Never to far away
by Backlash Button
Summary: Cora Sohma is Akito's favorite, she knows about the curse, but one day, her mother suddenly wanted to leave, that tore her apart, and Akito.   i suck at summeries, oh and rating may change later
1. Cora Sohma

**I hate life sometimes**

**...OOO...**

A girl with shoulder length black hair sat on her window sill, looking out at the busy chicago streets, the girl sighed went to bed, but before she got into her bed, she locked her bed room door, she heard the sounds of laughter, the tv, cabinets being closed and opened, the girl sighed again and turned off her light, the moon and Chicago city lights illuminated in her room, it was pretty, but she didn't think so, the girl was different, she came from a family full of blondes and brunettes, she was the first one to have black hair, the girl got into her bed and stared at her walll and ceiling, which was covered in anime posters, her favorite ones were of Dark Mousy from D N Angel, Edward Elric from FullMetal Alchemist, Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, Inuyasha, L and Light from Death Note, Ikuto from Shugo Chara and so much more, the girl smiled to herself as she looked over the book case that was filled with alot of manga and anime series. The girl turned onto her side and looked at a picture, it was of her and her mother and fathe; her father died 2 years ago a drug over-dose, but even if he was a drug addict, he never stopped loving his daughter, he even tried to stop, thats how much he loved his daughter, the girls mom soon met another man, but the girl HATED that guy, he was a drunk, and wold beat her mom, the girl tried to stop him, but her mother always said to hide, and the girl did just that, she knew even if she begged, her mother would still take things for her, the girl picked up the necklace her father gave er on her 13th birthday, the girl was 15 now, she didn't want to believe her father was gone fully, because she read once in a book, that a person's soul will remain in the objects they held dear to them, so the girl didn't understand why her mother always denied she ever loved her father, because whenever the girl peeked into her mothers and step fathers room, she always saw her mother with tears in her eyes and looking at the picture of when it was only the 3 of them, before he died.

The girl was begining to doze off, when she heard her door nob rattle, she sat up and grabbed the steel bat she used for when she went to the base ball diamond to let off some steam, she hid the bat under her covers, so who ever tried toget in ddn't know she could beat the crap out of them. For afew moments the door nob kept rattleing, the girl saw a shadow under the door, it looked like a uys shadow, so she had a good reason to beat the crap out of him if he even tries to get her, but she would make him give her bruisews, so she prove she was using 'self defence' with a bat that was coincidently under her bed, when its usually in the closet; the girl waited afew more minues, the person gave up and walked away, she sighed and layed back don, it was the weekend and she wanted to get enough sleep.

...OOO...

The next morningm the girl woke up with someone banging on her door, the girl yawned and stretched while she looked at the time, it was 9:36, she shrugged and got out of bed, since it was starting to get cold, she put on a pair of black hip hugging jeans, a BLEACH shirt and some red converse, she brushed out her har and then brushed her teeth, then flossing them, she put er silly band braceletes and her necklace with things from other necklaces that the necklace broke, she then put on her sapphire earrings her dad gave her on her 12th birthday, the girl looked at herself in her vanity mirror, which was black and white, her room was full of colors. She heard the pounding again, and a gruff male voice say on the other sid "Get out your sorry self down stairs runt." then he left, the girl sighed and began trying to figure out what sweater to wear, until her phone rang,she looked at the number and smiled abit before answering, she held the phone away from her ear and a shrill high pitched voice came from the other end, "Cora! Get your butt down to Barnes and Nobles! There is a contest on anime shows and to see who knows more about them, also there might be voice actors there!" the girl on the other line was gasping for breath, "Calm down Blair, geez, and also, i can't, i need to help my mom today." the girl named Cora answered, her friend sighed in dissappointment on the other line, "I hate that your mom is with some drunk, when she deserves much better." Blair said, "I know, i do too. But that's life, i want to punch it in the face, and beat it with my bat." Cora said in a casual tone, "You seriously are violent, bt i would totally help you with that, and i think afew million people as well." Blair said, "Well, i have to get going, the guy will probably bust donw my door...again if i don't get down stairs." Cor said, "Ok, bye-byes Cora, remember to go ninja on him if he tries to hurt you." Cora smiled at her friends staement, then said, "I will, don't worry, bye bye." and with that she closed her phone.

Cora put on her pokemon sweater and walked out of her room, she went down stairs and saw her mother was cleaning up, she went straight to the refridgerator, "There's nothing in there, we'll stop by the super market when we are out." Cora's mother said as she continued to clean up, "I'm going to the coffee shop at the corner." Cora said and walked out, she went to the coffee shop, got a blue berry muffin along with hot chocolate, it was getting cold out, so she got a fresh muffin and delicious hot chocolate. Cora always thought of her life out of chicago, she then remembered her distant family in japan, the Sohma's. She met the head of the family, which at the time was her age, Akito; she got along great with him, even though he was sickly, he always had time to talk to her, she also met afew of her cousins, Hatori and Shigure being some. Akito always got mad when either the maids or family members interupted their time talking, she was about 2 months younger than Akito, but they didn't care, Core decided to call him, she took out her cell phone and dialed the number for long distance. "Sohma residence please." she said, the operator put her through, a servant answered, she then said "I wish to speak to Akito, please." the woman on the other line stuttered and asked who was calling, "Core is my name." Cora answered, "One moment please, miss Cora." the maid left and soon a male voice was on the phone, "It has been awhile, Co-chan." Akito said in a smooth voice, "It has, Aki-kun, i was thinking about visiting for about 2 weeks." Cora responded, "I would _**love**_ for you to come here, Cora, it has been rather dull, and your the only one i can actually trust not to go behind my back." Akito's voice turned dark, Cora was a bit frightened for a moment, but relaxed, "I can probably stay for about 2 weeks, but i don't have enough money to get a plane ticket to get to and from there." Cora pointed out, she was basically broke, because her job didn't pay enough to save for a plane ticket, she was about 200 dollars short of buying a ticket that can get to and from japan.

"You don't have to trouble yourself, i will make arrangments for you to get here and back home in two weeks, you can always come to me for anything." Akito said to her, Cora smiled and replied, "And you can always trust me to listen and never leave." she knew Akito was bound by a fate that involved death, but she put that all aside and listened to him, it took awhile for him to get to warm up to her, but eventually he told her everything, even the Sohma curse. "I will have your ticket sent to you in afew days, be prepared by then." Akito told her in a stern voice, "I'm always ready to get away from here." Cora said, she heard Akito sigh and then say, "There is always a place for you here in the estate." Akito said to her, Cora thought about it for a moment before saying, "I might just take up that offer." she then looked at the time, "I better be going, i'm going with my mother to do somethings today good bye, Akito." Cora told him, "Good bye, Cora." and with that she hung up the phone, she finished her breakfast and left the coffee shop.

...OOO...

At the Sohma estate in japan, Akito hung up the phone, and the maid left, he stared out into the back yard, he then got up and to the truck he had in his room, he opened it and took out a picture, it was one of him and Cora when they were much younger, they were both 6, it was new years, they were holding hands, he was in a dark blue kimono while she was in a deep purple, it suited her perfectly, he smiled slightly at the picture, she was always there for him, even when he got sick a lot, not once did she leave his side, she talked to him, but when she did leave, it was to change clothes, go to the bathroom, and get their dinner, when she was with him, she was visiting from her home in the estate, he missed her whenever she left, he became angry and misser her greatly when her mother decided to leave the estate, and soon he took his anger out on everyone else.

_Akito was enjoying his afternoon green tea, it was spring time and the flowers were in bloom; they reminded him of Cora and her smile, she had the most sweetest smile he had ever seen, he then heard a knock on his door, _"Come in."_ his childish voice said, a maid opened the door and also revealing a tear soaken face of Cora, Akito dropped his tea and ran to her and hugged her close to him, she cried, the maid left. About 20 minutes later, she stopped crying, _"Why are you crying, Cora? You never cry." _Akito asked his beloved as he wiped her tears away, _"M-m-mommy s-said she wanted to l-leave here." _Cora stuttered out, Akito thought that time froze for a moment, he didn't want to believe what she just said, _"No, no, you're not being taken from me."_ Akito whispered to her as he hugged her again, he hugged her like he was about to die, he didn't want his pure happiness to go away, Cora cried again. _"Mommy said this is the last time i'll see you again, we're leaving today, i don't know when." _Cora was sobbing, Akito didn't know what to do, he just hugged her and both were rocking back and forth in silence, soon there was another knock on the door, _"What?" _Akito was in a real bad mood now, _"A-akito-sama, C-cora-san's mother is here to pick her up." _the maid stuttered out, Cora shook her head, she didn't want to leave, but soon there were foot steps being heard, Cora shook, she knew those foot steps. _"Cora? Come on honey, it's time to go."_ were the words that came from her mothers mouth, _"I don't want to leave, i don't want to leave you, Aki-kun."_ Cora said his nickname she gave him, he also gave her a nickname to, _"I won't let anyone touch you, Co-chan."_ Akito wiped her tears away, then his door slid open, _"Cora, time to go sweet heart."_ Cora's mother walked up to her and picked her up, _"I don't want to go! I want to stay with Akito!"_ Cora struggled in her mom's arms, she held onto Akito's hand, he was pulling back trying to pull her with him, but her mother was stronger, so she pulled Cora away from Akito's grasped and walked out fo the room in a hurry._

_Akito stumbled back and began to run after them, but when he finally got to her, it was too late, a black car was driving away, Akito was crying, he saw Cora against the back window, she had tears running down her face, she was pounding on the window, soon she was pulled back, he never felt such loneliness before, thats when he decided to take out his anger on everyone else, if he couldn't be happy, then why would the rest of the Sohma's be happy._

Akito put the picture on the trunk, he was glad that Cora will be coming back, even if was just for a short time, he got to see his red rose, in the garden full of white.

...OOO...

Cora got ready the day same day she got home from going places with her mother, she packed everything she needed for her trip, the ticket for her to go to japan came on the 3rd day, she looked and saw that the flight was for the next 3 hours, she shook her head and smiled at the ticket, "Leave it to Akito to want me to arrive early." Cora chuckled as she finished cleaning her room, she kept her oing away for 2 weeks a secret from her mom and step dad, they were gone for the rest of the day, something about a love motel, Cora didn't really pay attention, she just had to time it right, or else she will get introuble, but she'll get introuble either way when she gets back, she told her boss about going away for 2 weeks, he told her to go, because she had to get away for abit. it was an hour til she had to get on her flight, Cora made sure she had everything, put everything in its place, locked her bedroom door and left the house with locking the door, she called a taxi 15 minutes ago, so it was already waiting when she got outside. Cora looked a the passing scenery as the car drove her to the airport, she was glad she got to get away from her mom, and supposably step dad. She gave the taxi driver the money and left, she put her luggage on the conveyer belt as she did the normal thing at the airport, you know get checked for drugs, weapons, all that mumbo she finally got on the plane, it wasn't crowded, which put a smile on her face, but what would you expect from getting a first class ticket? she took the window seat and relaxed, she didn't doubt that Akito had made other arrangements when she arrived, so she just relaxed and waited as it was time to go. Cora took out her ipod and listened to music, it was the english version of Guilty Beaty Love' that was performed by Vic Mignogna, who was Cora's favorite voice actor. Cora fell asleep on the flight, she was woken up by the smell of food, Noodles to be exact, she took the head phones out of her ears and put the ipod in her pocket. The flight attendant put a plate of beef, with some mashed potato's, rice and steams broccoli, along with a cup of cranberry juice.

"Have a pleasant dinner, miss." the flight attendant said as she walked away, Cora ate in peace, she knew the plane food would be not as good, but at least she ad the cranberry juice. Cora finished and had dessert, it was a mini chocolate cae with ice cream on it, that was drizzled in chocolate syrup, it was good, then Cora fell asleep for the night. She woke up with the smell of waffle sin front of her, she ate her breakfast, she looked out the window and saw Tokyo Japan, she smiled to herself at the memories that were made in the city. "We will be landing in 30 minutes, please conseal every beverage and meal. Thank you for flying with us." Cora heard the pilot say, she gotup and took hersmall bag of clothes from up top, she went to the bathroom; she came out in a green sun dress with white ribbon rimmig, she put on green eye shadow, a white ribbon in her hair, and white flats, it was kinda of cold, so she put on her black sweater. When she saw the seat-belt sign light up, she puton her seat belt and afew minutes later felt the plane going down. It has been afew years since she was in Japan, so it wasn't any different, maybe a few new shops here and there, but it was the same air port she was forced to go to when her mom decided to leave. Cora waited for her luggage to come, she got the suit case, since she had the smaller one with her personal items, and spare clothes. Cora wheeled her suit cae around til she saw a man in a black suit, with a drivers hat, he held up the sign 'Sohma', she walked up to him, "Are you Cora Sohma?" he asked, Cora nodded, "This way." he grabbed her bags and walked off with her following him, she was led to a black car with slightly tinted windows, "So over rotective." Cora muttered to herself as she chuckled. After she was in the car and buckled her seat belt, the driver drove away from the airport. As she was being driven to the Sohma state, she didn't see a head full of silver hair, and a head full of orange hair, but the one with silver hair, reconized the car.

...OOO...

Yuki saw the one of the Sohma cars, he wondered who was being driven around at this time, it wasn't Akito that's for sure. "Um, yuki? Are you alright?" Tohru asked him, "Ah, i'm fine miss Honda." Yuki answered, "Damn rat is probably just sulking since his beloved Haru is in a bad mood." Kyo said, then he was suddenly on the ground, Tohru just smiled at the sight of the two teen boys fighting, because that's what she's used too, and she knew it was normal for them to start bickering.

...

Cora arrived at the estate, she smiled as she saw the wooden gates, "It feels like i haven't been here in forever." Cora said out loud, she opened the gates on her own since she didn't want to bother anyone, the driver followed her to the main house, she knocked and suddenly a maid opened the door. "H-how can i help you?" she asked, "I'm Cora Sohma." Cora told the maid, who nodded and moved to the side to let Cora in, the guy followed Cora who was following the maid who opened the door to her old room, but she oticed it was updated, Akito's doing, was her thought; she told the guy to put her bags by her closet, then he left, the maid stood behind. "A-akito-sama is expecting you in his room." the maid stuttered out, _"Why does se sound so scared to go near Akito?" _Cora wondered, she was then about to go see Akito, when she noticed a box on her bed, she opened it and saw it was a kimono of different shades of green. "He knows me better than i know myself sometimes, i swear." Cora chuckled as she put on the kimono, she only put the lighter layers on, because even it if was kinda cold, it would get hot later into the day, she then walked out after the maid and was lead to Akito's room. The maid knocked on the door, "What is it?" a cold male voice was heard, "C-cora-san has arrived." the maid sounded scared, "Let her in." the same voice said, but it was much more gently and was less cold, the maid left Cora infront of the screen door, Cora opened the door slowly, but not real slow, but slow enough for her to see how much Akito changed the past few years, she saw Akito, she stared wide eyed, he was lean, had some muscle and was handsome, "My mother always said you would be handsome when you grew up." Cora said as she sat on her knee's in front of him with her hands folded in her lap, "Your mother also said you would be beautiful, and she was right. But she took those years of us being together away."Akito stated as he looked Cora over, "She cut your hair." it was more of a statement than a question, "Too many memories of the house are stuck in your hair, she said." Cora disliked her mother ever since she left the house and remarried after her father died. "She might of taken your long hair, but your memoies are stilin your mind, unless she found a way to make them disappear, then she is much smarter than i would have guessed." Akito said, Cora chuckled at what he said about her mother, "My mother never thought things through, i give you that much." Cora said.

"That kimono suits you prefectly." Akito suddenly said as he got closer to Cora, "My favorite color that suits me alot." Cora said as Akito took hold of her hands and kissed them. "Hold me once more Co-chan, it's been cold lately." Akito muttered, Cora wrapped her arms around him, she felt Akito snuggle into her, she smiled as she tarted t lean back, she was on the floor with Akito on top of her, she held him in a protective loving embrace, she was the only who who never got scolded by Akito, which she was greatful for, soon both feel into a small sleep.

**...OOO...**

Cora and Akito got up from their small nap, and were staring at each other as they were laying beside each other. Cora pt a hand on Akito's cheek and caressed it, Akito nuzzled her hand, "You smell like fresh jasmine." Akito said as he held onto Cora by her waist, "I got if from shigure last christmas." Cora said, Akito looked at her, "And don't worry, i kept your gift with me always." Cora said as she took hold of a silver chain that was around her neck and showed it to him, it was a gold heart on a silver chain. "I still get amazed by this, even though i always wear it." Cora chuckled at herself, Akito held a small smile on his face. "Can you sing to me, Co-chan, like you used to?" Akito asked her as he hid his face in her neck, "Of course i can, Aki-kun." Cora said and she sang a song she heard from one of her favorite tv shows

Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete tooi misaki wo mezashiteta  
Yoake mae kikoeta MERODII  
Sore wa totemo natsukashii uta

Higashi no sora he to habataku toritachi  
Saa takarajima ni nukeru chikamichi.

Nanatsu no umi no rakuen  
Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaeru tame inochi ga mata umareru  
Nanatsu no kuni no MERODIA  
Daremo ga itsuka wa koko wo tabidatsu hi ga kitemo  
Watashi wa wasurenai

Akito sigh quietly, "You have such a lovely voice, Co-chan." Akito said as he hugged her tighter. There was a peaceful silence, before Cora's stomach made a noise, "Um, i guess i didn't have much to eat on the plane." Cora had a small blush on her face, Akito chuckled as he put a hand on her cheek, "Its alright, Co-chan, no need to be embaressed." Akito reassured her, she nodded, he let her go get a meal for both of them. Akito stared out into the back yard and thought of what they will be doing for the next 2 weeks; 15 minutes later Cora came back with a tray with 2 rice bowls, a plate with fried cat fish enough for 2 people, vegatables, 2 cups of tea, and a little tea pot with extra tea. Both ate in silence until a maid came in, "What is it?" Akito asked her in a cold voice, he didn't want the time he spent with Cora to be interupted, "S-shigure-san is here." the maid told him, "I see, tell him to come back tomorrow, i wish to spend the rest of the day with Co-chan." the maid nodded and left, "I didn't know i was that important to you, Akito." Cora chuckled as she ate some rice, "You mean the world to me, Cora." Akito told her, and he kissed her cheek.

...

The maid went back to Shigure who was waiting, "I am sorry, but Akito-sama wishes to spend the remainder of the day, with Cora-san, please come back tomorrow." the maid then left to finish her abandoned duties, Shigure was surprised at the by the name that came out of the maid, "So, Cora is back in town, i wonder how Yuki, and the others will take it" Shigure said to himself as he left the estate to back home.

...

"So this Tohru, she is living with Shigure, Yuki _and_ Kyo?" Cora was surprised that someone not a Sohma knew about the curse, but then not every Sohma knew about it, only a selected few. Akito nodded, "I met the girl once, she is rather ugly comapred to you Cora, who is a beauty beyond compare." Akito complimented Cora as he ran a hand through her hair, "Akito, when will i get to see the others?" Cora asked him, "Tomorrow if you would like." Akito answered, she nodded and continued to eat. They both talked until the moon was high in the sky, Cora yawned, "You should sleep Cora, i has been a log day." Akito muttered to her, she nodded at him then kissed his cheek, "Good night, Aki-kun, see you tomorrow." she whispered and left his room to hers. Akito slept soundly for once in the missing years without Cora.

...

**-At Shigure's house before night fall-**

Shigure was wondering why Cora wante to visit all of a sudden, but then again, her mother never did let her visit after they left, so he put that thought in the back of his mind until he could tell Yuki and Kyo. When he got to his house, Hatsuharu, Momiji, Hatori,, Ayame, Kagura, Kisa, and Hiro were visiting his house, talking to Yuki, Kyo and Tohru, "Well there's a party happening in my house, and i wasn't invited?" Shigure sounded hurt, "Well why would we invite a perverted moron like you." Kyo said as he ate noodles, "I just heard a real surprising discovery when i went to the main house." Shigure started as he ignored Kyo, "What, that your gay for Ayame?" Kyo slurrped his noodles, "Guess who's back in town," Shigure stated as he ignored Kyo's comment, everyone stared at Shigure, "Who is it, grandapa Shigure?" Kisa muttered out, "Cora is back in town." Shigure told them as he sipped his tea, everyone who wasn't Tohru stared at him with wide eyes. "Your joking right?" Hatsuharu asked, he didn't believe it, Shigure nodded, "Why the hell is she back?" Kyo said, he suddenly was curious on why Cora was here, "That i don't know myself, all i can say is that she's here." Shigure answered, "Who's Cora?" Tohru asked, "Cora Ayumu Sohma, the only one who knows about the curse and hasnt had her memory erased, and she's Akito's favorite." Hatori answered, "You forget one thing about her, she never onc turned any of us away when she was told about the curse and who was cursed." Kyo looked at the ground with a blank expression, "She was a red rose in a garden of white, she took the time to talk to all of us, and i don't know if any of you want to admit it, but i actually am glad i know her, even if she is Akito's favorite, she never judged us on who were or how we acted, she wanted to know our true selves, which makes her a princess in my book." Ayame told everyone, "S-she always read me and Hiro books when we were younger." Kisa said, "She always gave me a hug every time she saw me, but she didn't when we were in public." Momiji told them, "She puts others before herself." Yuki said.

"We all have an experience with her that stood with us as we grew up." Kagura told them, "She sounds nice." Tohru smiled abit at the thought of meeting another Sohma, "Is she par of the zodiac?" Tohru then asked, everyone sweat dropped, "No, she's not part of the zodiac, she knows about it, and the one's who are cursed." Hiro answered, "I say she finally had enough of her mother and left." Kyo said, "Well, her mother is not all there." Ayame said, "I think with her father dying and her mother remarrying, she probably couldn't stand it." Yuki suggested, "After 4 years, doubt it, Cora is strong, but the only reason she's like that, is because she never had anyone but us to lean on when she needed us, but we weren't there, she was there for us, and look how we repaid her." Hatsuharu said, "For once, haru is right, we should invite her here tomorrow." Kagura suggested, everyone nodded. "That is, if Akito lets her." Shigure suddenly said, "He wants her to be happy, so the chances of him letting her visit you is very high." Hatori replied, "So, what are we waiting for? We need to plan a welcome home party or something!" Kyo suddenly was excited, "Me and haru will get the balloons and streamers!" Momiji announced, "I'll design a dress for her." Ayame said, "M-me and Hiro will get her a present." Kisa said, "I'll also get her a present!" Kagura told them, "I'll supervise since all of you are bound to break something or hurt someone or both." Hatori said in his usual voice, "I'll get her a present also, since i haven't seen her in awhile." Yuki said, "I'll get her a better pesent that yours rat boy!" Kyo yelled, "And i'll be the one to escort her here." Shigure announced, "I-i'll make the food!" Tohru shouted, "So it's settled, we'll make a welcome home party for our dear Co-chan." Ayame said, Cora's nickname caught on to everyone, and they called her Co-chan, when Akito wasn't around. "This is so exciting, i get to meet another Sohma. Can i invite Uo-chan and Hana-chan, shigure?" Tohru then asked, "Well of course you can, i bet Co-chan and your friends will get along just fine." Shigure said, Tohru smiled and began wondering what Cora looked like.


	2. Akito's love

**RAWR! I am the dragon king!**

**but anyways, here's the second chapter of my new story**

**...OOO...**

Cora woke up with the sun shining her face, she looked out and heard birds chirping, she sat up, yawned and stretched. Cora smiled as she remembered where she was, she was in her old home in japan; she got up and went to the bathroom, then back out to get ready for the new day, she checked her cell phone for the weather and saw it was going to be in the 60's, she put a pair of black skinny jeans, a red shirt with a silver heart on it, she brushed her hair, left it down then put a black and red bow in her hair, she put on some red eye-shadow and left her room to see Akito, she knocked on the door, "Come in, Cora." Akito's voice was soft and wamr, she opened the door to see another figure looking at her, "Well, long time no see, Cora." Shigure smiled at her, Cora smiled and sat infront of him then took his hands in hers, "It has been awhile, hasn't it." she smiled to him then let go of his hands to sit next to Akito, "What time is it?" she then asked, "Around 10." Akito answered, Cora nodded. "Shigure suggested you go see Yuki and Kyo today, would you like to go, Co-chan?" Akito asked her as he held her hand, "I haven't seen them in awhile, so it would be nice." Cora replied, "Then it's settled; i expect her here before midnight." Akito told Shigure who nodded, then sat up, "Well, Cora, ready to see them?" he held out his hand, Cora took it and they walked out of the room. "I need to get my shoes and coat first." Cora said to him as she went to her room and got knee high black heeled boots that zipped up and her red and silver coat that was light yet warm. She put her boots on when she was at the door, "My, my, you have grown, when i last saw you, youo were wearing sneakers." Shigure chuckled, "Oh ha ha, your so funny. Are you still terrorizing your editor?" Cora then asked smirking, "Oh it's just harmless fun." Shigure smiled, "If you say so." Cora smiled abit and they left. "So how has everything with you been?" Shigure asked, "Well, my mother still doesn't listen to me, i hate my step-father, i'm studying to be a drawer, other than that, i'm plain." Cora answered, "Your mother is going to regret what she's done some day, you know that right?" Shigure said, "I do, and when she does, i'll be long gone. I'm thinking about moving back here, the main house is the only place i can call home without it being raped by drunks and smokers." Cora said as they stopped at a light, "ou were never one for parties." Shigure chuckled, "Except when it was my own." Cora smirked.

"I need to pick up something from this story, would you mind waiting for a moment, Co-chan?" Shigure looked at her, she nodded and he went in the book store.

...

Shigure walked into the book store and asked the cashier to borrow the phone, when he got the phone he called Ayame, "I take it you got her measurments?" Ayame answered, "Yup, She's 5'5, medium waist, size C bust, her attitude and love for colors hasn't changed." Shigure told him, "Still one for the dark yet flashy colors, she trully is a her mother was never one for color." Ayame said, Shigure nodded and said, "True, but then again she really has matured since then, and i bet she would love-" Shigure was about to continued when Cora's voice stopped him, "Shigure," Shigure almost dropped the phone, "Y-yes, Co-chan?" he asked, slightly embaressed, "thers a buy one get one half off at th emusic store across the street, can we go after we're done here?" Cora tilted her head, "Of course we can, why don't you pick get afew books here, i'm sure theres something you like to read." Shigure gestured to the book store, Cora nodded then walked off, her heels softly clicking on the carpet, "As i was saying, i bet a black dress with shiny green trimming and ruffles will be her interest." Shigure suggested, "That sounds perfect! Co-chan always loved shiny things, well, better get to work, ta-ta!" Ayame hung up, and Shigure gave the phone back to the cashier then went to look for Cora, he found her in the drawing section, he also saw a basket full of books, he picked one up and suddenly had wide eyes, for one he didn't expect her to like boys love books, and second, he never would expect her to want to draw them! "I know it's weird for your own cousin to read books like those, but they're cute and interesting, my mom hates that i read them, but i cant help it." Cora said as she looked up at Shigure, she giggled at his expression, she took the book away from him and put it back int he backet, "Don't worry, the rest are manga that are not boys love related." Cora picke up her backest and showed him, he sighed in relief and then both went to pay for the books.

"You read alot, aren't teenagers not suppose to care about reading?" Shigure asked as they crossed the street to the music store, "I'm not like other teenagers, i want to get a good job, i want to get into a good collage, i want to get married and have kids, but i need the proper education to able to support my family." Cora said as they entered the store, she went stright to the pop/rock sections. After half an hour, they left the store with 3 CD's, Cora got the Ouran High Scool Host Club cd and the Mermaid Melody cd, while Shigure got a jazz cd. They walked around for abit until Cora saw a crepe stand, she grabbed Shigure's hand and ran to it, "Can we get some?" she asked, "Of course. Two chocolate crepes please." Shigure said to the crepe maker who nodded and got the crepes started, "I haven't had one since i left here." Cora said as she watched the crepe being made, "Your mother was never a very nice woman." Shigure said, Cora shrugged then smiled as the crepes her done, "Yum." she said as she grabbed both of them, Shigure gave the money to the maker then got his crepe from Cora. "How long are you staying here for?" Shigure asked, "About 2 weeks, maybe 3, or i'll stay here, i haven't decided yet." Cora answered as she ate her crepe with a smile. "That bad huh?" Shigure looked at her, "You have no idea." and with that, they both ate and walked in a peaceful silence. Shigure took hold of her left hand and held it with his right, while he ate his crepe with his left hand, Cora looked at him then smiled gently, she entwined their fingers, if it was one thing Shigure could do, it was help her forget her troubles. They walked to his house in the forest, "I take it your the occasional weirdo that walks around here at night, Shigure?" Cora chuckled at her thought as she imagined Shigure in a spy outfit, and everything, then girls walking by him and just staring, she giggled at that, "Well, your laugh hasn't changed much." Shigure patted her head, they stopped at the front door, "Wait here while i go check if anyone is there." Shigure said, Cora tilted her head abit in question, "I want to suprise Yuki and Kyo." Shigure said, Cora nodded, he then left her to wait.

**...OOO...**

Shigure was in a hurry and took off his coat and shoes then wandered into the house, he went into the dining area, everyone fussing over where to put everything, "She's outside! And im scared to find out what would happen if i leave her out there for to long!" Shigure said to them, "Um, well i got all the food ready with some help from Momiji and Hatsuharu,while Yuki, Kyo, Kagura, Hiro, and Kisa got the decorations ready, and um Ayame and Hatori just got back with a cake." Tohru said, Shigure nodded he looked around and saw everything was out of place, but that wouldn't bother Cora, he also saw the 20 presents, some on the small table and some on the floor. "You all went all out to welcome her home." Shigure was shocked, but impressed, "Well she is important to us like Akito is." Ayame chmmed as he was sipping his tea, "I'll get her then, she must be waiting to see what's taking me so long." Shigure said and walked out, and to the front door, he opened it to reveal Cora reading one of her BL books, "I forgot i told them you were in town last night, so they already know." Shigure said while scratching the back of his head, "That's alright, at least they know im here." Cora forgave him, they were in silence for afew minutes, "Aren't you going to let me in?" Cora asked, "Oh, right, this way." Shigure moved out of the way to let her in, "It feels homey." Cora smiled some, Shigure smiled back and watched as she took off her jacket and boots. "They're in the dining room." Shigure walked infront of her, and stopped at rice paper sliding doors, he opened them and soon Cora was surrounded by confetti and streamers. "Welcome home Co-chan!" Ayame, Momiji, and Kagura yelled, "You all went all out, i can tell because everything is out of place." Cora chuckled at them, she saw so many familiar faces, but one, a girl with brown hair and blue eyes, she wondered if this was Tohru Honda, Akito was talking about. "Well, when Shigure told us our beloved Co-chan was here, he said we should organize a party, and so, here we are." Ayame said, "So, who wants to get hugged first?" Cora opened her amrs and smiled, Momiji was the first to jump in her arms and turn into a rabbit, "Aw, i missed you so much mo-chan." Cora nuzzled him, he nuzzled back, she put him down and said "Now go put your clothes on, the last thing we need are naked boys and men walking around here." she laughed at everyones expressions, "Her sense of humor hasn't changed at least." Kyo mumbled.

Hatsuharu was the next one to hug her and turn into an ox, "I missed you too haru." Cora hugged him longer before getting his clothes and putting them on his back. Ayame was next, "Snakes scare the jelly out of me, but with you aya, im not scared." Cora let him go around her neck and rest there then she took him off and put him in the next room with his clothes, Momiji and Haru were already human again and dressed sitting at the table. Hatori just patted her head, Hiro hugged her tight, she hugged him back even though he turned into a lamb/ram. "I haven't seen you or Kisa in a while." Cora mutteres as she kissed his head, and put him down to get his clothes, "Sissy." Kisa said as she walked up to Cora, said girl went on her knees and held her arms open, "Oh Kisa, my Kisa and Hiro." Cora smiled as the little girl hugged her and she hugged back. Kagura hugged Cora next, but not before both were holdings hands, jumping up and down in a circle squeling, then hugging each other. "Why are girls so damn loud?" Kyo shouted, both girls didn't pay attention and were hugging each other still. "We have to go shopping together before you leave." Kagura said, "Ok, i know that would be fun." Cora agreed, she then saw Yuki and Kyo she smiled and walked up to them, "Long time no see, huh Yuki." Cora smiled abit at him, he smiled back, "It has been awhile, Cora." Yuki then hugged her, he turned into a little gray rat, "Your still cute like i remember, aw!" Cora held him in her hands and kissed his head then kinda brushed noses with him, she grabbed his clothes and took them to the other room, she walked back and then tackled Kyo. "Ah! I'm getting mauled by an emo person!" Kyo yelled as he was trapped in Cora's arms as a cat, "Oh Kyo, stop it, you know you love when i pet you." Corasaid as she sat him on her lap and rubbed his tummy, he purred loudly, everyone in the room held in their laughter, Kagura knew Cora loved to mess with Kyo, so she didn't think anything of it. "Well now that everyone has welcomed her home, its time for introductions." Shigure said with a smile he went to ohru held out his hand, Tohru put her hand in his and he led her to where Cora stood.

"Cora, this is Tohru." Shigure gestured to her, Tohru bowed, then looked at her with a smile, "Hello, i'm Tohru Honda." Cora was amazed, this girl looked like a ditz, but looks can be decieving. "I'm Cora Sohma, pleased to meet you, Akito has told me about you." Cora bowe abit, everyone looked at her, "I wonder what he said." Yuki mumbled to himself, "You say something Yuki?" Shigure looked at his younger cousin, who shook his head. "Time for presents! Time for presents!" Momiji said excitedly, "Presents?" Cora was really happy now, she sat in an empty spot inbetween Hatori and Ayame, "Oh before we get started, i have a present for our lovely princess." Ayame said and he got up to go the other room, he came back with something behind his back, "You will need to close your eyes for this." he said in a gentle voice, Cora nodded and closed her eyes, Ayame took the item from behind his back, he walked up behind Cora, then took the item out of the box and placed it on her head, "Is it a crown, cuz if its a crown i would love you even more!" Cora said, she heard afew of them chuckle, "You guess right, princess Cora." Ayame said then kissed her cheek, Cora smiled then opened her eyes, she gasped at the presents in front of her. "This is from Kureno, i guess someone told him you were here also." Shigure said as he hadned Cora a box, she opened it slowly and inside were paint supplies, she smiled, she opened the rest of the presents, most were books, clothes and art supplies, she saved Ayame's last, because she loved his gifts. Cora smiled widely as she took out the black dress with greeen lace and ribbon trimming, and green under layers, she kissed Ayame on the cheek and sat back down. "Tohruy, how come your friend's couldn't come?" Shigure asked as everyone ate and had fun, "Uh, um, Hana-chan was going to take care of somethings today, and Uo-chan had to work." Tohru answered, Shigure nodded, everyone was having fun, because Cora jumped on Kyo, causing him to transform, she laughed and rubbing his tummy, with him purring loudly, "Oh Kyo, you know you love me when i rub your tummy." everyone laughed at Kyo, he got mad and was attepmting and filing to bite her.

Cora also got to talk to Tohru when she helped bring the food out. "Thank you for taking care of them, when i couldn't." Cora bowed to her, Tohru smiled and bowed, "Not a problem." then walked out of the kitchen to serve the food. Around 10 it was time for Cora to go, because she was getting tired; "Well *yawn* i had loads of fun here, and it was a pleasure meeting you Tohru, i'm glad i met you." Cora said as she smiled, Tohru smiled in return, "I'll be taking her home." Hatori said, everyone said their good byes and night and left. Hatori, Ayame and Cora got in Hatori's car and drove off to the estate. "It truly is a delight to know that your here, Co-chan." Ayame said to the teenager, "It feels nice," Cora began, Hatori looked at her through his rear view mirror, while Ayame looked at her to the side, "fells nice, to be home, once more." Cora smiled to herself, both males smiled at her statement and then dropped her off, "Good night Ha-chan, Aya-chan." Cora kissed both of them on their cheeks as she went into the main house to her room, she dressed into a Pokemon shirt and black sweats, she took off her make up and brushed her hair out, there was a knock on her door, "Come in." Cora told whoever it was that knocked, she continued to brush her hair, then she felt two arms wrap themselves around her waist in a protective hold, "See, i'm back before 12, you didn't need to worry, Aki-kun." Cora kissed his head and put her brush down. "Did you have fun?" Akito aked as they lied down on the futon, Cora nodded and answered, "I saw some of them, and i saw Tohru Honda." Cora told him, "What did you think of her?" Akito asked as both of them saw on the porch and looked up at the night sky, with a cresent moon and stars, "To tell you the truth, she is a hideous sight to see, always smiling like nothing is wrong. I don't know what they see in her." Cora admitted, she disliked Tohru, but put up a facade of tricking everyone that she liked Tohru, it worked well, not even Yuki noticed.

"She is an eye sore, isn't she." Akito said as he layed his head on Cora's lap while she stroked his hair. "It's not fair." Cora said as she gently took Akito's head off her lap and put it on the floor, she walked back into the room, and suddenly there were crashing and shattering sounds, "They belong to me!" Cora yelled at started smashing things, her eyes became watery, but she refused to cry. Akito watched his beloved destroy things in her way, making Cora angry was another reason Akito added to his list of why he hates Tohru. Cora stopped after 30 minutes of destroying things, she sank to her knee's, she then noticed a picture of her and Akito when they were kids, "You still have this picture? I thought you would have gotten rid of it." Cora took in her hands and looked at the picture of her and Akito at new years, many years ago. "I could never get rid of the picture, if i got rid of the things that reminded me of you, i would be displeased." Akito hugged her from behind and fell back, Cora twisted around and was now looking at Akito, "I'll never leave you, until you want me too, Akito-sama." Cora muttered in his chest, "I will never want you to leave, Cora-san, we will be together always." Akito whispered to her and hugged her. Both layed in the mess she made, but only one spot remained without shattered glass or wood. The maids and servants heard the crashes and yelling, but didn't disturb them. Cora had silent tears running down her face, as she whispered, "Kyo,Hatsuharu, Kisa, Hiro, Momiji, all of them belong to me, and you, Tohru has no right to disturb the happiness you created, Aki-kun." Cora hid her face in the nape of his neck, "What method of elimination would you use on miss Tohru?" Akito asked as he stroked her hair, "Why would you ask me such a question?" Cora replied, "Just wondering." Akito answered, "Well, i would most likely deprive her of seeing any of the Sohma's, especially Yuki, Kyo, Hatsuharu, Momiji, Shigure, Hatori and everyone other cursed person." Cora answered, "Such a cruel person Cora, but the idea does seem fitting." Akito agreed, "Your too cruel." Cora snuggled into him, she then got the pillow, put it under Akito's head and then draped the cover over them.

"Shall we spend tomorrow together, Akito?" Cora asked, Akito's arms wrapped around her waist, "That would be nice." he answered, "Lets have lunch in the garden tomorrow also." Cora suggested, "As long as you feed me." Akito whispered in her ear, "Only for you, Aki-kun." Cora replied and kissed him on his lips, Akito was abit surprised, but kissed back either way, if he was Cora's lover, he would be happy, until she leaves.


	3. My only love

**A true friend would be there when you cry**

**a fake friend is one that makes an exscuse to not talk to you during your time of comfort**

**...OOO...**

Cora woke up as the sun rose, she also noticed that Akito was next to her, draping an arm around her waist, she then looked around and saw a mess, the memories of last night began to flood her mind, she _HATED_ Tohru Honda, she was a ditz, she smiled for no reason, she didn't know what the Sohma's had to go through with being curse, whoever let her in, will be punished one day. Cora sat up, she decided to cleanup, she took her time to clean, so she wouldn't wake p Akito, he looked peaceful, she didn't want to disturb that. When Cora was finished with sweeping and picking up some shattered glass and wood, she layed back down by Akito, he was warm for someone who always got sick. Cora closed her eyes and started to drift back off to sleep, a sudden movement got her to open her eyes, Akito was moving more into her, she didn't mind, if Akito was happy, she was happy; she sighed in relaxation and enjoyed the feeling of being wanted. Cora went back to sleep and when she woke up the next time, the sun was up in the sky, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawned and stretched. "And a good morning to you too, Co-chan." Akito's warm soft voice said to her, she looked at him adn smiled, "Good morning, Aki-kun. Did you sleep well?" she asked as she folded the covers, "I did, and i noticed you cleaned the room already, you could have just told a maid to clean it up." Akito was next to her, "Yes, but then we wouldn't have enough room to move if this place still had trash covering the floor." Cora pointed out, "Your right, but i don't want your soft hands to be injured." Akito took hold of her small hands and kissed them, Cora smiled at him, "So what are we going to do today, Aki-kun?" she asked him, "Since it's almost lunch, let us go to the garden." Akito told her, Cora nodded and got up, bring u Akito with her. Akito was already dressed, now she just had to get dressed. Cora put on black capris, with a lime green shirt with the phrase "You just wasted 20 seconds of your life reading this shirt.", she put on black flats, her hair down with a green butterfly clip in it, and the necklace she got from Akito.

"It's a lovely day out today." Cora commented as they walked through the garden, Akito nodded, he to was enjoying the weather, "Yes, but the sun is disturbingly bright." Akito said, Cora chuckled and pulled him to a spot that was perfectly shaded by trees. "Is this to your likeing, Akito?" Cora asked, Akito nodded and leaned his head on her shoulder, Cora wrapped an arm around his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair slowly, Akito relaxed and enjoyed the feelings, soon 2 maids were walking towards them with lunch. "Come back in an hour and a half." Cora told the maids, they nodded and scurried away, they were scared of Akito and his moods. "Aki-kun, lunch is here." Cora nudged him awake, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at her then at the food. "Will you feed it to me, Co-chan?" he asked as he leaned against the tree, Cora smiled and nodded, she grabbed a bowl of rice and some chop sticks. "Here you go, Aki-kun." Cora chuckled as she held up the chop-sticks with rice in it, and Akito ate the rice, Cora fed Akito his portion of the lunch, then after that, she fed herself, she was surprised when she felt Akito's warm/cold lips on the side of her mouth, "You are such a messy eater, Co-chan." Akito told her as he kissed the sides of her lips again, then made his way down to her neck, Cora dropped her chop sticks as Akito kissed a certain spot, that spot made her suck in her breathe, Akito heard her, and smirked then continued. If he could please Cora, then he would be fine, Cora was his one and only love, and nothing would ever change that, not even Tohru Honda. "Co-chan, did you miss me?" Akito suddenly asked, his face was covered by his hair, Cora looked at him in bewilderment, "Of course i did, i didn't stop thinking of you, even in school, i always wondered if you were alright and well." Cora said, and it was the truth, Akito was the only one whoever understood her the most, "Would you stay if i asked?" Akito then said to her, Cora nodded, "I don't like it there, mom only thinks about herself and her so called boyfriend or whatever he is. Ever since my real dad died 4 years ago, she stopped being herself, but i think she just upgraded her things, because she drinks more and smokes. This what she does to me when her boyfriend whatever isn't home." Cora turned so her back to Akito and she lifted her shirt, Akito's eyes became cold with hate, he saw the scars, bruises and scratches.

Akito raised his hand and slowly ran his fingers across each scar, scratch and bruise, Cora cringed at the touch, since some were still healing, "She had the nerve to raise a hand to you?" Akito's voice was cold and filled with hate. "She didn't care, as long as she got her way, she didn't raise a hand to me, but when i do something that's right, but she thinks it wrong, i get introuble, and this is the result." Cora explained, "You will live here now, by my side, protected from her and anyone else who tries to harm you." Akito whispered into her ear, as he hugged her from behind, Cora relaxed and snuggled into his arms, the pain in her back might hurt, but with Akito, she doesn't feel it. A maid then came, "Akito-sama, Ami-san has called." the maid told them, Cora blinked, "Why would my mother call?" she asked out loud, "I see, well better take the call before she starts to harass us." Akito stood up, he held out his hand for Cora, who grabbed it and got up, "We're finished eating, inform us when dinner is ready." Akito told th maid, who nodded and left. "My mother must want me to come home." Cora said in a sarcastic tone, Akito chuckled, they went to his room, there was a phone there, he picked it up and answered, "Well hello Ami, how have you been?" Akito said to her, _"Tell my idiot daughter to get herself back here, she didn't have my permission to leave."_ Cora's mother said, Cora scoffed at that, "Cora has decided to live here, and she has shown me the scars. You must never touch what's not yours Ami, you of all people should know that." Akito said in a smug voice, _"She's not yours Akito, she's _mine, _she belongs here, and those injuries are meant to teach her a lesson." _Ami said, "I highly doubt that Ami, you ran away with a band drug addict, and you had someone beautiful like Cora, such an odd mix." Akito taunted, he loved to mess with Ami, it was fun, but especially when it came to the matters of the heart, she took Cora from him when they were kids, Akito never forgave her for that, and now it was pay back time.

_"What i do to my daughter is no concern of you Akito."_ Ami said to him, "Oh i bet it does, she's my fiancee, so why wouldn't i be concerned." Akito told Ami, Cora looked at him with wide-eyes, Akito smirked at her face and chuckled, _"You wouldn't dare."_ Ami said through the phone, "Oh really, ever since her actual father died, did you not once ever sinec you married that moron, have you ever wondered if she was happy? No, because your a good for nothing pawn, your a Sohma til the day you die, and Cora does'nt wish to bve nothing more that a Sohma, when i sent servants to pick up her things, don't give them a fight, because she is no longer your concern, and i will find out if you put up a fight, you can't escape the Sohma name, it's with you forever. I hope we can chat again, Ami, this was a nice conversation. Good bye." and with that Akito hung up the phone, "You went a little to far." Cora said, "Oh, but it's true, i do plan on marrying you, you never doubt my actions, you never disobey orders unless needed to, but most of all," Akito stopped and looked at her, he then hugged her tight and whispered into her ear ",your the only one who knows how to take care of my heart and feelings." Cora wasn't expecting that, "You could do so much better than me, Akito-sama." Cora told him, Akito shook his head, "Your the only one who i trust, if your happy, then i won't ask any more questions." Akito told her, Cora thought about it for a moment then nodded. "I'll take care of you, if you take care of me in return." Cora told him, she leaned back, Akito held her closer, "Alright, i'll be your wife, but i want respect, i don't like being bossed around." Cora said to him, she pouted and crossed her arms, Akito looked at her and chuckled, "I will never force you to do something." Akito told her, they then went on the porch and sat together. Akito layed his head on Cora's lap and she ran a hand through his hair slowly and gently. Akito loved Cora since they were kids, and when she left, it broke his heart, now that she was back with him, he might be a little nicer. Soon dinner came, they ate in a peaceful silence until it was time to go to bed.

**...OOO...**

Cora woke up by herself, Akito left an hour before because he had to take his medication, because he forgot to take it yesterday. Cora rubber her eyes, and she felt something scratch her face when she did, she looked at her, and she went wide eyes, on her left ring finger was a silver ring, with two small heart shaped diamonds on both sides of a slightly larger emerald heart, "I know he couldn't have gotten this on such short notice." Cora muttered to herself, but she liked the ring, she took it off and saw it had engraving, _"To my dearest" _is what it read, Cora shook her head and got up, she then saw a note on her suit case, she looked at it

_Cora,_

_Get your wounds checked by Hatori_

_i will be gone for the remainder of _

_the day, i won't be home until dinner_

_if you are asleep by then, i will understand,_

_you are free to do as you wish today, just_

_no life threatening actions. Be careful._

_-Akito_

Cora chuckled and then got dressed, it was hot out, so she put on a lime green sundress with white flower prints, green flip flops, she put on green eye shadow, she left the necklace akito gave her around her neck, and she put her hair up into two high pig tails, she got her purse and put the nessasary items it, then left. Cora informed a maid that she would be going out and won't be home til later. Cora went to Shigure's house; when she knocked, she was yelled at by Kyo who said "We don't want any of what your selling!", then he saw who it was, "Nice greeting, i can't wait to hear your voice mail message." Cora chuckled as Kyo went red, "What do you want Cora?" he looked away, "Is that idiot novelist here?" she replied, "Yeah, he's in the study." Kyo moved out of the way to let her in, Cora took off her flip flops and went inside to look for the study, she came across the dining room, "Hello Yuki, Tohru." Cora greeted with a smile, even though she was glaring at Tohru on the inside, "Ah! Cora-san! What a pleasure to meet you again." Tohru bowed, "No need for formalities, just call me Cora." Cora waved her hands in a surrending manner, she then noticed a girl with long blonde hair that covered on side of her face, and a girl with long black wavy hair. "Are these your friends, Tohru?" Cora asked, "Yes, this is Saki Hanajima, and Arisa Uotani." Tohru pointed to her friends as she said their names, "So your carrot tops and prince charmings other cousin?" Uo asked, "Yup, i lived in the states for afew years." Cora answered, "I thought you were looking for Shigure." Kyo said, "Oh yes, i was. Yuki, can you take me to Shigure's study?" Cora asked him, Yuki nodded and got up then left the room with Cora following. They were in silence until Cora spoke up, "Akito asked me something yesterday." Yuki looked at her then asked "What did he say?", "He proposed to me, and i said yes." Cora answered as she held up the ring, Yuki was horrified, "I know you might think i'm making a wrong decision, but i'm not Yuki. I don't want to go back to my home in the states, my mother treats me like a piece of trash, ever since my father died, and since she found out i have a condition in my eyes that might harm my vision, she doesn't want anything to do with me. The main house is my home, and that's it." Cora said, she didn't realize she had tears coming down her face, until Yuki wiped them away, "Do the others know?" he asked as he took her hands into his, Cora shook her head, "I wanted to tell you first, your the only one i can trust not to tell." Cora gave him a sad smiled, Yuki kissed her forehead, "Don't stress yourself, it doesn't suit you." Yuki told her then he knocked on a screen door.

The screen door opened to reveal Shigure with his glasses on. "Oh, well what do i owe the pleasure of having our rose princess visit a lowly novelist like me?" Shigure chuckled then he saw her tear stained face, "I guess jokes won't help?" he asked, "They might a little." Cora answered, Shigure nodded and moved out of the way, Cora walked in, she was surprised to se Ayame and Hatori. "What are you all doing here?" Cora asked as she sat in Shigure's chair, "I just came for a visit." Ayame told her, "I'm watching him." Hatori answered in his usual semi-monotone voice and pointed to Ayame, Cora nodded. "I got to tell you all something, and don't say a word, and this goes mostly for you Shigure, because i know your going to blab it out to the others, and if you do, i'll make sure you never get into the writting business again." Cora gave him her glare, Shigure sweat dropped and held up a white sheet, "Ok, i give. I won't tell.", Cora nodded and sighed, "It must be something important if your telling all three of us." Ayame said, Cora had a habit of telling only Hatori, Ayame and Shigure a secret that she could trust them with,but they had to be in the same room to hear the secret and she got them in a room to tell them, and its been that way since they can remember, "It is, and i got lucky you all are here." Cora told them, "But i told Yuki first, because i trust him a bunch." Cora then said, "Your something, i swear." Hatori muttered, Cora smiled then she looked at her hands then at the ring. "Akito...asked me to marry him." Cora was doodling on a piece of blank paper with a pen she found on Shigure's desk, "Your not seriously going to go through with it, are you?" Shigure asked, Ayame and Hatori were shocked and curious too, "I am." Cora answered, "Your ruining your life, Cora." Hatori said to her, "You make it sound like i had a life. I wake up, get dressed, eat break fast, go to school, learn, eat lunch, go back to learning, come home to face my mother, lock my door so whenever they have their random parties on the week days, no pervert can get in my room, and the process starts all over again, i have friends, but i don't want them to go over my house, because i just know there are some of my moms so called husband or boyfriend whatevers, semi-drunk perverted pedophile friends. You three should know i hate my mother, ever since my dad died and since she moved us to the states, she hasn't been the same." Cora explained, she refused to cry.

"Look at the out come when i do something right, but she says it's wrong." Cora got up and turned her back to the 3 males and lifted the back of her shirt, she didn't care if they saw her bra clasps, she just wanted them to see the scratches, bruises and scars she has. "Your mother...has been doing this to you?" Hatori didn't believe it, he got up and inspected her injuries, "Akito told me to get checked up by you." Cora said to him as he continued to look at her back, Ayame was crying abit, Shigure was on the verge of tears, Hatori didn't want to cry, for it didn't solve anything, he saw his favorite cousin with secret injuries. "I'll get you some medication so the scratches will heal up quickly, but the bruises will have to take their natural course of healing." Hatori told her, Cora left her shirt go and let it fall, she turned so she was facing them, "I'd rather stay here in japan than go back home, to that place of drugs and alchohol." Cora looked at Shigure and Ayame, she sat infront of them and kissed them slightly on their lips, Cora always did this to her cousins, because she knew they wouldn't take it the wrong way, but only the male cousins, not the female ones. "Our little rose has been in a dead garden, how did we not know." Aya whispered to himself, Cora put a hand gently on his cheek and caressed it, he smiled and nuzzled her hand. "Mother never wanted me to come back, i didn't listen, i feel more at peace here, than there." Cora told them. Hatori went out of the room and told Tohru that they'll be having dinner in the study. The three males and 1 teenage female sat in silence and ate. "When's the wedding?" Shigure asked her as he layed his head on her lap, along with Ayame, "He just proposed yesterday, we haven't decided yet. But you three will be the second to know." Cora said, "Aw, why not first?" Shigure asked, "Because Yuki is going to know first." Cora answered, "You and Yuki always did get along more, even when you were with Akito." Ayame said, Cora nodded, Hatori looked at his watch, "I think it's best for us to go home now." is what he said, Cora nodded at him, Ayame and Shigure got up from her lap and left the study with Hatori in the lead.

"Your leaving already?" Tohru asked as she saw Ayame, Cora and Hatori putitng on their shoes. "Yes, i'm staying at the main house til i leave." Cora said, Tohru nodded and smiled, "Have a safe trip back." is what she said after, Cora nodded and said her good byes then followed Hatori who was then following her out the door. "What will your mother say when she finds out." Ayame chuckled, he never liked Cora's mother, she was always thinking about only herself, "Oh she knows already, Akito is arranging to have my things sent here, i'm staying." Cora said, both males looked at her, "Like i said, i never want to go back there, to that place." Cora told them, they got to Hatori's car and drove off to the estate, they got to the main house and dropped Cora off. When she went in her room, she saw a figure on the porch, "Where were you?" Akito's soft voice asked, "I went to see Shigure." Cora answered, "Did you tell him, about our engagment?" Akito then asked, "I did, i had to threaten him to keep quiet." Cora answered, she heard Akito chuckling, "Always the one for violent threats." Akito said, Cora went to sit next to him. "Did you have a nice time out?" Cora asked, "I did, but then remembering you being here alone, i got anxious, i thought you would leave me again." Akito said to her, Cora took hold of his hand, "I would never leave, i would have to be controlled to ever leave. I feel at peace here, in the main house." Cora told him, Akito leaned his head in her shoulder and snuggled into her. Cora wrapped an arm around him and leaned her head on his. Akito might be cruel, cold and heartless with some of the family members, but when it came to Cora, he didn't have the nerve to raise his voice at her, hurt her emotionally or strike her with his hand, because it would hurt him to see her in pain, she got taken from him once, he wasn't about to let her go again.


	4. Seeing Shisshou again

**Hello my kiddies! :) i am so terribly sorry i haven't been updating often like**

**i used too, family problems have risen and of course everyone in the family takes the hit, but anyways, heres some more of my fruits basket story.**

**...OOO...**

Cora was happy to see her relatives, but being at Akito's side was more important and very tiring, Cora got to see Kureno again, they both got along ok, not like her and her other cousins, but it was at a satisfied level, and as always, Akito was over protective of her. Cora then noticed she hasn't seen Rin in the few days since she has been there. "Akito, where's Rin? Did she get sick or get severly injured?" Cora asked him as she put her clothes away in the closet, Akito got her clothes first, then the rest of her things, he also made sure her mother didn't hide anything, so the servants got her things. "It's Rin, so its either one or the other, i don't know." Akito answered, Cora saw that he was irritated, so she kept quiet; Akito's mood swings, were dangerous, so she knew when to stop asking questions and just ate her honey ham, cheese, mayo on wheat bread sand-wich when she was done putting her clothes away. Akito then saw her facial expression, she was abit scared of him, "You have nothing to fear, Cora, i am sorry if i frighten you, this week has been stressful, and that Tohru Honda is not helping at all." Akito told her; Cora disliked Tohru, a lot, that girl always had a smile on her face without a care in the world, it annoyed Cora completely. "She's not the brightest crayon in the box, but her cooking makes it up for that, but it's what i see in the other's eyes when she comes in the room," Cora was getting angry, "They seem so peaceful, so calm, like nothing is going to happen, i hate it, she ruined the connections i had with them, but mainly Hatori, Shigure, Ayame, Yuki, Kyo, and the others that were at the Shigure's house. What right does she have to break those ties, just like the zodiac, they will always be together, no matter what the situation." Cora said to him, she glared at the wall and was wating for it to burst into flames. "Glaring at the wall won't help you get over your anger, just tell her, then she'll listen." Akito told her, "No, it's too soon, and they might dislike me if i told her in front of them, if its in secret, then i might hit her with all the cruel words i can think of, that girl is a air-head, i'm surprised she's not blonde." Cora said in amazement. _(im not trying to be stereo type-ish, but there are so many blonde jokes and i just happened to remember them as i'm typing this)_. "Momiji is a blonde." Akito pointed out, "He's the exception, he's a Sohma, and Sohma's are smart no matter what." Cora respoinded back, Akito nodded at her logic.

They both sat in her room in a nerve wrecking silence. "Would you take a walk with me, Co-chan?" Akito asked as he got up and held out his hand, Cora nodded and put her hand in his, he then pulled her up, and both walked out of her room and into the garden, bare-foot. Cora looked around the garden, and saw there were a few changes, but not very noticable, but the one thing that looked real familiar to her, were the rose vines that cover part of a wall, they walked there, Akito took a rose from it and put it in her hair, "Remember Co-chan, when you would always bring me a rose when you visited me?" Akito told her, Cora thought about it for abit, she then remnembered and smiled abit, "I do, and i alway told you '_i'll always be your red rose, in a garden of white or black._', and i always will, Akito, until you don't want me by your side anymore, i will leave quietly until that day." Cora told him, Akito looked at her and then hugged her, "I will always want you Co-chan, your my heart, and soul, and if you left, i would be more lonely, i never want you to leave, it would hurt me too much." Akito said to her, "Akito, i only want you to be happy, and nothing will change that." Cora told him, Akito hugged her and kissed her lightly on the lips, "I love you Co-chan, and always will." he whispered in her ear, Cora smiled and hugged him abit closer, "I love you also, Aki-kun." she said to him after. They both walked back to her room and ate the rest of their lunch, Cora was planning on attending Yuki and Kyo's school, it would be fun to have your cousins in the same school, at least you know some people.

**...OOO...**

A few days past with Cora's visit, she laughed with her cousins and Tohru, while secretly trying to make Tohru burst into flames with a glare she was giving to her in her mind. The others didn't suspect Cora of hating Tohur, they thought she got along great with her like everyone else had, Cora was still trying to figure out why everyone liked her, especially Kureno, as long as she's known him, he never left Akito's side, and also, he told her about how his curse was broken, Cora hugged him when he said that, at least she got to hug a member of the zodiac, without them changing, she didn't know why, but hugging Kureno, was like a door was opening, a door she never wanted to open. Cora liked being by herself when Akito had to leave for some unknown reason, she spent the day out mostly, going to Shigure's or going to familiar and new places. Cora loved being back in japan, it was her home, her sanctuary. Cora was walking in the park, Akito told her he was going to be out late, and that she didn't have to wait up for him. The sun was bright as usual, but it was kind of chilly, so she wore jeans and a dark blue shirt that had a light blue ribbon tieing in the back, black flats and her tinker bell sweater. Cora saw the happy couples that were in the park, she sat on a swing, and swung abit, she wanted to feel that kind of love, she felt it with Akito, but for some reason, she felt like she also belonged with someone else, she didn't know who, but it was someone. Cora then remembered a song from her favorite cartoon, Scooby-Doo, she loved that one song from the new series, it kind of explained her feelings, but not fully, she sang the song from her heart, and her voice made it all the better

Your unfeeling heart, imprisons me  
Careless eyes, too blind to see  
Empty words, an iron cage  
Broken heart, bleeding rage

(Can't wait for you and me, it's time I break free)

Trap of love, snared by desire  
Trap of love, burned by your fire  
Trap of love, snared by desire  
Trap of love, beware of the trap of love

Let me be, it's time we part  
Set me free, un-cage my heart

(Can't wait for you and me, it's time for you to see)

Trap of love, snared by desire  
Trap of love, burned by your fire  
Trap of love, snared by desire  
Trap of love, beware of the trap of love

Cora had her eyes closed, so she didn't see afew people looking at her, then clapping, she looked up and blushed some while putting up her hood and hiding behind her hair, "I take it that song was mostly for your enjoyment, was it not?" Cora looked up, "Shishou, what are you doing here?" Cora saw Kazuma, who was like a father to her in the past, before her mother finally got the nerve to leave Sohma house with her birth father. "I was taking a stroll, and i happened to hear your voice, it has improved greatly, you have the voice of an angel, Cora. How has your mother been?" Kazuma asked her as he sat on the bench next to the swings, "Idiotic, she got a new boyfriend and he's a drunk and a druggie; she also became abusive." Cora gestured to her back, she took off her sweater, and since she was in public, she didn't lift her shirt up, Kazuma ran a hand down her back, he felt the scars and bumps of swollen scratches. "Your mother was never one to back down if she was wrong." he said, Cora nodded in response, "Is it wrong to hate someone for a ridiculous reson?" Cora asked him as she looked at her hands, Kazuma stared at her and answered, "No, it's just how we're made, we hate things that get in our way, and we want to get rid of it anyway we can. Just know of the consequences that will happen if you take action on this hate." Kazuma told her, "What would Kyo do if i told him i loved him?" Cora asked Kazuma, who looked at her and smiled then patted her head, "That i can't answer, you need to find that out for yourself." he said, "But what if he rejects me? And also, this isn't the kind of love that i want to be with him, i want to know if he'll love me once i try to break the obstical in my way." Cora told him, Kazuma just smiled and shook his head then put a hand on her head, "Think before you act Cora, i taught you better than that." Kazuma told her and he walked away, Cora thought about it for a moment then yelled, "What the hell am i suppose to think about?" which got people looking at her like she was crazy. "Do you have to be so damn loud?" a voice said back to her, Cora turned around and saw Kyo with his hands in his sweater pockets..

"What are you doing here Kyo?" Cora asked, Kyo walked up to her and bonked her on the head, "I'm not always stuck in that dogs house." Kyo told her, "I'm staying here, i'm not going back home." Cora then told him, Kyo just looked at her and smiled. "Good, at least i won't be fighting that damn rat if your here, we have the most interesting conversations." Kyo told her, "You mean arguments." Cora said and she chuckled, Kyo chuckled to and he sat on the swing next to her, "Like sporks, are they a spoon or a fork? A real slow person would be confused by it." Cora said to him, Kyo laughed. Both teenagers were laughing and talking til the sunset, "I'll walk you home, since there are guys worse than Shigure." Kyo told her, Cora laughed at the fact, "Point taken, now come on fluffy." Cora told him and she took hold of his hand and they started walking to the main house hand in hand. Kyo didn't mind walking hand in hand with Cora, she was the one he could tell anythng too, unlike Tohru, his crush. Cora was one you could rely on and tell anything too, Cora has always been with Kyo since he was small, and Kyo never wanted her to leave, so he was also sad when she left. They talked the whole way, and when they arrived at the estate entrance, they got quiet, "It was fun talking to you again Kyo, without yelling." Cora told him and chuckled, Kyo chuckled also, "Yeah, it was fun, i forgot the last time i had this much fun." he admitted, "I'm glad i got to see you again Kyo, i never had a conversation like this with my friends back in the states," Cora admitted, Kyo looked at her and smiled then did something he never thought he would have done, he kissed her cheek. "It was fun, i hope i you come by the house again." Kyo told her, and then he walked away, and just before he turned the corner, he looked back at her and waved, she waved back and went in the main house.

Cora liked spending time with her family members, mostly the ones her age and the ones younger than her, Hatori, Ritsu, Shigure, Ayame, and Kureno. Cora walked to her room. undressed then put on her night clothes, it was unusually chilly this night, so she put on a sweater so she wouldn't freeze; she got a maid to make her hot chocolate and bring her peanut butter sandwiches on wheat bread to her. Cora got into the full size bed Shigure baught for her, it was comfortable, and also warm, since the covers were thick, 4 fluffy pillows, 2 under her head and 2 on the side for Akito, she turned off her light and went to bed. Cora was in a peaceful sleep, until around midnight when a movement on her bed woke her up,"A...kito-sama?" she said in a tired voice, she heard a soft chuckle and someone moved the hair out of her eyes, "I am sorry i disturbed you, Cora-chan." Akito's soft voice told her, and he held her close, Cora was too tired to really care, so she just snuggled against him, Akito sighed in satisfaction and fell asleep holding her.

**...OOO...**

_7 year old Cora walked around the main house garden, she was laughing and enjoying the summer days, she was in blue sun dress, her hair loose with matching blue ribbons, she also has on white flats to match, she loved sniffing the flowers and liked to see the lady bugs fly out of some. Cora enjoyed her time out-side, she then saw a maid and asked, _"Maid-san, what time is it?"_ she asked, the maid looked at her and answered, _"It's 3:30, Cora-sama."_ Cora's face went in shock, she was enjoying playing, so she completely forgot to visit Akito around 1, she immediatly started looking around for something to give him as an apology, she saw a wall covered in roses, she picked one and then ran to the main house, she took off her shoes on the way there so she could just drop them on the floor and hurry to Akito, she dodged the servants and male's of the zodiac, because not many knew of the curse, they looked at her funny but kept on going. Cora arrived at Akito's door; she had a red face and ragged breathe from running and making sharp turns and dodges, she smoothed things out and knocked, _"Come in."_ Akito's voice told her, she fxed her hair fast and opened the door slowly, _"I'm sorry Akito-sama, i wasn't paying attention to the time and i-" _Cora was cut off with Akito asking _"Is that rose for me?"_Cora looked at him, and nodded, _"It's for you, as an apology for not coming at the normal time i usually come at." _Cora went on her knees and bowed, _"You don't have to bow to me, Cora, or apologize, i saw you having fun, and i was delighted to see your smiling face, now come sit next to me, i got an interesting dream to tell you." _Akito patted the spot next to him while he was looking at her, Cora looked at him and nodded then sat next to him, they were in a calm, peaceful silence that might break if a loud noise suddenly happened. _

_Cora was wondering if she should start talking or wait for him to talk, since he was the head of the Sohma family. Kazuma, her shishou taught her manners, because her mother was too busy with her father, he was a band member, and Cora liked listening to him play, but sometimes the music got annoying, she was so confused, did she start talking or did she wait for him to talk? she had no clue. _"That rose is pretty, and it's all for me." _Akito told her while taking the rose out of her hands, Cora didn't know what to do, the maids told her never to look Akito in the eye, _"I wanted to give you the most beautiful of the roses, Akito-sama, because you are worthy of their beauty."_ Cora said to him, Akito looked at her them smiled then said, _"Thank you Co-chan."_ Cora looked at him with a strange look, _"I will call you Co-chan now, because it's cute, just like you, now you make a nick name for me." _Akito said to her, Cora nodded and thought for a moment, then she had it, _"I will call you Aki-kun."_ she told him, Akito had a big smile on his face and nodded, _"I'll be the only one that can call you Co-chan, and your the only one that will call me Aki-kun, ok?"_ Akito told her, she nodded and they both started talking until Cora had to go home and sleep. _"Good night Co-chan!" _Akito waved to her and smiled, Cora couldn't help but wave back and smile in return while saying, _"Good night Aki-kun! Sweet dreams!" _and thats when everything was set into place._

**...OOO...**

Cora woke up with a small jump, she then saw that the sun was up in the sky, she also noticed she didn't have on her sweater, she then noticed that someone was hugging her from behind with a arm around her waist, she turned slightly and saw it was Akito, she smiled softly and moved hair out of his face and kissed his forehead, she forgot the last time she saw him sleep peacefully, it braught back nice memories, of the time before she left Sohma house, memories she never wants to let go off, because those are the only memories she wants, not the memories of her life somewhere else.

**...OOO...**

_**"Do you love her?"**_

_"I do love her."_

_**"You can't have her, she is only meant to be for one person, and thats **_**'God'**_**."**_

_"No! I love her! I won't let her throw away her life for him!"_

_**"What can you do? Your just the cat, that got tricked by the rat."**_

_"No! I swore i would protect her, she was the only one who didn't run away from me when she saw my other form."_

_**"Neither did that other girl, who is more important to you? Tohru or Cora? Tohru can give you love and affection, but so can Cora, but then again, Cora never get emotional on certain subjects, unlike Tohru, who cries for the simplest thing. Life goes on, and people should too."**_

_"Cora never knew the support of others, and thats why i want to make her happy."_

_**"Tohru is the exact opposite of Cora, which has Cora making Tohru a prime arget."**_

_"Target? For what?"_

_**"Cora **__**HATES**__** Tohru, Cora will soon tell her, Cora lives in a beautiful colorful world, but underneaith is a dull, ugly place. If you want her happy, let nature take its course."**_

_"No, i won't, Cora means to much to me, and i won't let her bear the burdens her mther gave her."_

_**"Your not going to listen, so i'm just going to sit back and watch."**_

_"Who are you?"_

_**"I'm your consious. "**_

_"Oh, so then i get to do this then." -punches concious in face-_

_**"The hell was that for?"**_

_"I always wanted to do that."_

_**"I'm starting to wonder what thgat girl see's in you."**_

_"Concious, shut up before i hurt you again."_

_**"Ok, ok, geez, don't have to a drama queen."**_

***Scoffs***

_**"Just remember, Tohru is Cora's enemy, talk to her, find out why."**_

_"Will you stop bothering me when i do?"_

_**"Nope, your stuck with me for life."**_

_"Oh joy, but then i can also beat you again...sweet!"_

_**"This is going to be a rough forever."**_

_"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"_

_**"Now he's cracked **_-sighs-_** what did i get myself into."**_

...OOO...

Kyo woke up in a sweat, it was the weekend so he slept in, he wanted to see Cora and talk to her after what his concious told him, if there was even a concious. Kyo layed back down and stared at his ceiling, the sun wasn't going to rise for another 2 hours, t was 4 A.M. on his clock; he turned on his side and looked at the picture that was on his side table, it was of him, Cora and Kazuma. Kazuma was holding both of them in his arms, both of them were smiling, he didn't want to admit it, but he started to doubt his feelings for Tohru ever since Cora came back, it was strang for him to feel like he was al the way in the sky when Cora was with him, but who was he to talk, he was the cat, and everyone rejected the cat, "Except the singer, that sang for god." Kyo muttered as he went back to sleep, dreaming of Cora and her gentle smile, caring arms, that he didn't want to leave.


	5. Is it yours to decide

**This story is going good, i plan to work on this and my other stories too**

**keep reading and reviewing plz.**

**oh, and im using the story that's in volume 22, cuz that's an interesting story**

**oh and i do NOT own furuba aka FRUITS BASKET! i wish i did, but no, oh and i might rewrite the story about how the whole zodiac curse started abit**

**and im sorry i haven't been updating, too much school work and stress**

**...OOO...**

"Cora, time for bed."_a male with brown hair, hazel eyes, piercings on his face, tattoo's, and punk rock clothing, said to his daughter, _"But im not tired dad."_a little girl of 8 years old with shoulder length black hair in pig tails, in an over sized Betty Boop shirt was in bed, but she wasn't tired,_"No buts, you have school tomorrow."_the man said, the girl sighed but still didn't fall asleep. _"What if i told you a story to help you get to bed?"_the man offered, the girls eyes lit up and nodded while smiling, the man smiled back, his daughter was his pide, joy and happiness__. _"Ok then, this is a old legend, but it still goes on, even if no one believes it." _the male layed by his daughter and stared at her__, _"What's the story about daddy?"_the little girl asked__, _"Has mama ever mentioned the chinese zodiac?"_the man asked, _"Mama does, she said i'm the pig, i tell my thoughts and im straight forward."_the girl answered, her father smiled and moved a lock of hair from her face, _"Well this story is about the chinese zodiac."_the man said, the little girl was quiet, and then he started telling the story..._

"Once upon a time, in a certain place on a mountain, there lived a person. The person was alone, for a long, long time. After leaving the mountain, the person learned that many other people lived below it. But the person was still alone. Even with a thousand powers, a thousand lives, and a thousand memories, the person learned the such things were different from wat most of other people had." _the male looked at his daughter, she was looked intently at him, _"What's wrong?"_ the man asked, _"That person was alone for a long time, huh daddy?"_ the little girl said to him, the man nodded and continued his story. _"So, the person developed a fear of other people. A fear of getting hurt. Despite having many powers, the person was afriad of being different from others. But one day, a cat came to visit. The person was shocked by the sudden visitor. The cat bowed his head in respect. _"I have humbly watched you for a long time," _the cat said, _"You are a very mysterious person; I cannot stop from being attracted to you. I am merely a stray cat, but please let me be by your side. Please, Lord God."_, and from that time on, the cat kept his promise. He never left God's side, not even for a moment, and that made God very, very happy." _the man paused and looked at his daughter, she was still awake, the man then looked at the clock, it was going to be 9, he sighed and just gave up, he knew his daughter wasn't going to sleep until he finished th story and then kissed her on her fore head good night. _"The person, 'God' wasn't alone anymore daddy?" _the lillte girl asked, the man shook his head no and continued to story. _"One day, God suddenly got an idea. _"I see, maybe i can get along with others as long as those others aren't people. If they know the same feelings i do, maybe i can have a pleasent banquet with them."_ God said, then he wrote many, many invitations, and sent out those many, many invitations. As a result, twelve animals came to see God. God was then surrounded by thirteen animals in all. They held a banquet every night the moon sparkled and shone. They sang, they danced, and laughed together; God too laughed out loud for the first time, as the moon watched quietly over the inhuman banquet.

_The man looked at his daughter, she was still looking at him, but the look of curiosity and amazment was in her eyes, the other reason he loved his daughter the most, is that she was smart, and liked adventure, he smiled then kissed her cheek, the girl giggled snuggled into her father more. _"Continue the story daddy, it's interesting."_ the girl smiled up to her dad, and he nodded, then kept going, _"But one night, the cat collapsed. Nothing coulde be done, for his life had run out. The twelve animal and God cried. It made them realize, that someday, everyone would die. The banquet would come to an end, no matter how much they enjoyed them,some day they would, no matter how dazzling and precious they were."_ the man stopped and looked at his daughter again, she had a tear running down her face, he wiped it away with his thumb, he saw in his daughters eyes she wanted him to continue, so he did, because she would put up a fight if he didn't. _"God then recited a single chant, he then drew a circle on a sake cup. God made the cat drink, and then spoke to everyone. _"Our bond," _God said, _"I will make it eternal, even if I or all of you die and rot away, we will be together by an eternal bond. How many times we die, how many times we are reborn, just as before, we will have our countless banquets. We will all be friends, until the end of time. We will be __**Permanent.**__" _Everyne then nodded, the rat drank first, next was the ox, then the tiger, then the rabbit, all in order they shared the drink of their vow, until the boar was last to drink, the cat started to cry, his breath was low. _"My lord God. My lord God, why did you make me drink? My lord, i don't want eternity. I don't need permanence." _the cat said. Those words were unexpected. To God and the others, they were words of rejection; The animals then scolded and admonished the cat, but the cat still spoke."

_"My lord God, my Lord God. I know it's frightening, but let us acept that things end. I know it's sad, but let us accept that lives depart. My Lord God, i know it was only for a short time, but i was happy to be with you, if one more time, we both die and are reborn, and if we meet again, i don't want to only see you in the moonlight, i want to see you smiling under the light of the sun as well. Next time i don't want to meet you with only those of us here, i want to meet you whgile your smiling within a ring of people." _the cat cat twitched his tail one last time and died. No one cared about the cat anymore, they were filled with the sense that the cat had betrayed them. So sometime after that, one after the other, the other's died, finally, after the dragon died, God was left all alone again. Then another day came, a day when even God died; but God wasn't afraid, because God was supported by the promise made with the others. _"Again, we'll hold our banquets, once again, as many times as we want, for as long as we wish, without changing. I may be alone now, but everyone is waiting on the other side of our promise." _God said, and then he passed on." _ the man looked at his daughter, she had small tears coming down her face, and he wiped them away, _"Don't cry Cora, not all stories have a happy ending."_ he said, the girl continued to cry, until she finally was able to talk, _"That poor cat, he died alone, with no one to care for him, i want to care for the cat daddy, i don't want him to be alone."_ the little girl hugged her cat doll, the man then looked at the time, it was 9:40, time passed and he didn't even know it, _"It's time to sleep Cora, and don't worry, i bet one day you will take care of the cat, all you got to do is be yourself and remember these words, because my mother told them to me, as her mother did to her and so on, _"Always together, holding hands. Repeat the good and the bad, do it all, and pile on the years_. Can you repeat them for me." _her father asked, the little girl looked up at him and said his word, _"_Always together, holding hands, repeat the good and the bad, do it all and pile on the years._ Did i get it right daddy?" _the little girl asked, her father nodded then kissed her forehead and got up from her bed then walked to the bedroom door, _"Good night Cora, sweet dreams." _he said, and turned off the light, her power puff girl night light shining in the corner, _"Good night daddy, i love you."_ the little girl responded and turned while hugging her cat doll, then pulling the covers over her head, her father smiled and whispered back, _"I love you too Cora."_then he closed the door._

**...OOO...**

Cora opened her eyes and looked around her, she was out on the porch, the sun above her head, she was in a light blue kimono, she comfortable where she was sitting, she then looked up at the sky and the clouds that were there and whispered words, she had forgotten, "Always together, holding hands, repeat the good and the bad, do it all and pile on the years.", afew tears slipped from Cora's eyes, she remembered those words after the few years her father has been dead. Cora then looked at the back yard, the flowers were in bloom, Cora was then sobbing, she put her hands over her face to hide, even though it was a vain attempt, she tried to keep people from seeing her tears. Cora heard foot steps going towards her then stop afew inches away, soon arms were around her, and a popping sound was heard, Cora looked and saw a black dog laying its head on her shoulder, Cora hugged the dog and sobbed. After 20 minutes of crying, Cora went back to sleep, the dog then changed back into Shigure, who put on his clothes again and layed Cora's head on his lap and stroked her hair. "What are you doing here, Shigure?" a low demanding voice asked, Shigure looked and saw Akito glaring at him then turning his gaze to Cora, where it softened, "I came by to see you, but i found her crying here, so i decided to lend my body to her, she's beautiful even when she cries, she has grown so much since then." Shigure said in a kind voice as he continued to stroke Cora's hair in a loving way. "Get your hands off her." Akito told him in a menacing voice, "Ooo, so scary Akito. Remember she has a will of her own, she'll want to leave Sohma house one day, you can't have her here forever." Shigure told him, Akito got mad. "She loves me, and wants to stay here." Akito said to Shigure, while Shigure just continued to stroke her hair. "But what about when she goes to collage and wants to be something? She'll have to go to a work building and come home like every other worker." Shigure said, he stopped stroking her hair and looked at Akito, "The Sohma family owns afew buildings, so she can work at one of those for a few hours then come home." Akito said, "Do we own a drawing building?" Shigure asked, "Why do you ask?" Akito replied, "She wants to be a drawer, i could tell, she puts her thoughts into pictures." Shigure told him and looked out onto the garden.

Akito was jealous, he didn't know about Cora's love for drawing, and Shigure did, why didn't she tell him that? Akito thought for a moment, "She's growing up, and will take interest in other men, either let her go, or let your heart shatter by her love for aother." Shigure said in a serious voice, Akito didn't know what to do, he loved Cora with everything he had, did he want to risk everything for her? Akito thought some more and finally said, "I'll keep her here, she loves me, that's why she's going to marry me, she could have refused, but she didn't." Akito said, Shigure thought then, he wanted what was best for Cora, and if it meant disobeying Akito in the process, he'll do it, and Shigure already had the perfect match for Cora, he just needed to get everyone else to help him with his plan, and knowing them, they will probably try to sop him, that's just obvious.


	6. stay here forever

**Hey ppl, im sorry i havent been updating, **

**i hope i can get back into the writing habit again**

**...OOO...**

Cora was sitting out in the garden, looking out and enjoying her stay at her childhood home, she was glad she got to see everyone again, but her hate for Tohru grew, Cora didn't understand how a girl, who might choke on a grain of rice, be friends with Kyo, Yuki, Shigure, and everyone else, even Hiro, Hatori, and Isuzu. Cora didn't understand that. A maid came up to her and gave her her lunch. "When is Akito coming home?" Cora asked, "Akito-sama will be home around 3, Cora-san." then the maid left, "I wonder what i can do until aki-kun comes back." Cora thought and she got up then started walking around. The servants of the house hold bowed when she passed them, she bowed back and then continued to walk, she decided to visit Hatori. Cora walked all the way to his house, it was a quiet fall day, kind of chilly, but it was alright. Cora just walked in and saw him laying on the couch, she chuckled then went to get a blanke and put it over him. then she kissed his cheek. "Sweet dreams Hatori-nii." then she left, but before she made sure everything was clean and tidy, then left, she was a neat freak when she wanted to be. Cora walked around the estate, but stopped when memories flashed all of a sudden, of her ex, and how he left her, more like died because of his father and gave her something to remember him by. "That was a mistake, no one could ever replace Akito in my heart." Cora said to herself as she looked at the sky, but something inside her, said it wasn't true, that there was someone out there for her, and it was Akito, but then it wasn't, Cora ruled out all the older Sohma's in the curse, Hiro, the girls, and Hatsuharu. All that was left were Kyo, Momiji and Yuki, but then, she ruled out Momiji since he was abit to childish for her, all there was left was Yuki and Kyo. Cora saw the sparks between him and Tohru, and she wanted to get rid of that. No one is going to ruin them. Yuki, Kyo and the others have been through enough hardships because of the curse.

Cora then decided to go over to Shigure's house, she then found a woman in the front yard, she had brown hair, and wearng a dark blue business suit. "Um...miss?" Cora asked, the woman was trying something to a tree, "Why? Why would he do that? Why?", Cora just blinked and then grabbed the womans hand and dragged her to the house, she went around and saw them in the dining room. "Hey, i found her trying to hang herself in your front yard. Now excuse me, im going to hide the nuise from her." Cora said as sher walked away and untied the nuise from the branch and hid it, then went back to Shigure, Yuki, Kyo and Tohru. "Didn't know you were stopping by Co-chan." Shigure said, as he sipped his tea, "I didn't either, but i was bored, and Akito was out, so i decided to go out." Cora answered as she got on the porch, just as Tohru brought a cup and poured tea. "Um, so, Cora, where did you live when you moved from japan?" Tohru asked, Cora looked at Shigure, who kept drinking his tea and smoking, so it was obvious he was the one that told her. "I lived in chicago, its in the states." Cora answered and sighed. "Something wrong, Cora?" Yuki asked, "I'm having some doubts. You know Yuki, so do you Shigure." Cora scratched her head, Kyo looked between all 3 of them, then he noticed the ring on her finger, "When did he ask?" Kyo then asked her and looked at her, "Cora loked back, "2 weeks ago." she answered. "Cora, if you have doubts tell him." Shigure said, Cora, Yuki and Kyo scoffed. "Like he was one to listen to reason." Kyo said and ate a rice ball, "But then its her choice." Yuki said, "I know guys, its just hard, im a girl and all, and it puts alot of pressure on me." Cora said, "She's right, but still, we should support her, she's put a lot of things on hold for us." Shigure said, Tohru was confused, "Um, what are you al talking about?" she asked, the 4 Sohma's looked at her. "I'm in a relationship, and the guy askd me to marry him, so we're trying to figure out what i should do. Don't get yourself involved, Tohru, you have enough on your plate as it is." Cora said to her, Tohru just looked at her and nodded when she saw the serious face Cora had. "I-i'm going to start dinner." Tohru said and got up from her spot then went in the kitchen.

"Cora, do what you want to do. You don't have to be Akito's wife if you don't want to." Yuki said, "For once, i agree with the stupid rat, you should make the choice on your own." Kyo said, Cora was confused, but then she looked at Kyo, when she did, it was like there was no one in the room. "So what now?" Yuki asked, Cora blinked and shook her head, "We wait. I love him, but then..." Cora stopped and looking inside her tea cup, it was half empty, and she saw her replection, she looked like her father. "But then what Cora?" Shigure asked, "But then, i feel like i belong to someone else, someone that will actually love me. I'm confused guys." Cora said as she sighed and layed her head on the taable. "We'll help you Cora, you can count on us." Kyo said, Cora smiled at him. "Thanks Kyo, your the best." is what she replied, Kyo smiled at her, Shigure then started forming his plan. He saw the sparks beween them. Shigure then just had to find a way for them to confess to each other, but then he also had a feeling, Cor was hiding something, what it was, he didn't know, and he wanted to find out. Yuki saw what was going on between both of them, he then looked at his reflection in the cup,_ "The singer who sang for god, never had the choice, but she does." _Yuki thought as his cousin continued to talk to Kyo, they had a lot in common, they were both hot tempered, looked up to kazuma, both were in family situations with their mothers, never knew what it felt like to have someone care about them. "They're prefect for each other." Yuki whispered to himself, "Did you say something Yuki?" Shigur asked, and Tohru walked in with a tray of food, enough for all of them. "This looks tasty Tohru, thank you for putting your hard work into it." Cora said and smiled at her, "Y-your welcome, Cora." Tohru responde and sat down, while Shigure gave ech teenager a plate.

Cora enjoyed the meal, and her talk with her cousins, ut it was Tohru's dull nature that ruined it. Cora was still trying to figure out why they liked her so much. She heard the story of how her mother died in a car rash, and her dad died of a sickness. Cora almost cried when she heard about her dad, thats the only soft spot she had, because she didnt know her dad, Cora did. But when Cora heard about her mom, "Your mom was kick-ass Tohru, be proud your her daughter." Cora said, the 3 Sohma men looked between the 2 girls, they thought they got along great, but it was the feeling Shigure got is what made him doubt their friendship. Kyo on the other hand, thought about his conversation with his so called concious. He had to figure outif it was true or not. Kyo didnt want to face the truth, but he knew life didn't work out that way, he was the cat, rejeted by everyone, but not by the singer. "Hey, Cora?" Kyo looked at her, Cora looked back and tilted her head, "Yeah Kyo?", "Ineed to talk to you, want to go on a walk with me?" Kyo asked, Cora nodded. "Yeah, want to go now?" she then asked, "Yeah." Kyo answered as he got up, Cora did to. "Thanks for the dinner Tohru, it was great." Cora said as she got up and followed Kyo to the front of the house and pput their shoes on and left. They walked around the woods, in silence for about 15 minutes. "What did you need to talk to me about, Kyo?" Cora was curious about what her friend/cousin/crush had to say. "What do you think of Tohru, and the truth, Cora." Kyo said as they stopped at a ledge and sat down, looking at the field, as the moon was rising. "Would you hate me if i told you the truth?" Cora looked at the sky, Kyo stared at her, "Why would i? i asked for the truth." Kyo said, Cora then sighed and looked at her lap. "I hate her. She's too happy, she's too plain, she's not smart, she's a ditzs." Cora clutched her sweater.

Kyo stood silent, because he knew she had more to say. "She doesnt know what it means to be truly alone, why did Akito let her keep the secret? She's not worthy of it. She can possibly choke on a grain of rice or let a burgler in and ask him about his life story for all i know. She takes things to heart, but when it comes to you guys, thats when i hate her the most." Cora had silent tears running down her face, "Why do you feel like that?" Kyo then asked, "Because, she got close to all of you. Hatori has even changed, and Kureno. I can't stand it. What's so special about an outsider who cant even tell i hate her, and love the one she accepted in both forms!" Cora was crying, Kyo just stared. "What do you mean, Cora?" Kyo asked, "Are you blind? I love yu Kyo! Ever since i got to know you when we lived with shissho. When it was just us, how you would always help me with my stances, and as i got older, i started feeling for you. Not like Kagura, who's obsessed, but a simple love, that i want to take slow." Cora sobbed, Kyo blinked, and then scooted next to her, they were touching, but just enough that he wont change, he layed his head on her shoulder,_-insert kagome and inuyashas theme here- _"Say it again." Kyo whispered as he took hold of her hand. "I love you Kyo, i love you, i love you kyo." Cora continued to say it, and Kyo listened, with tears running down his face slowly, he thought he wouldnt ever find someone who would say that to him, and mean it. "Cora." Kyo sad, his bangs were covering his eyes, as he sat up, Cora looked at Kyo and was surprsed when he kissed her, she tasted his emotions and his tears, and she kissed back. Kyo put his hands over hers, she entwined their fingers. When they pulled away their foreheads were touching. "Do you love me, Kyo?" Cora asked, "Of course i do. Since we've been with each other growing up." Kyo told her. They soon were sitting there, Cora had her head on Kyo's shoulder, and Kyo had his head on hers. "Look, its a shooting star, i'm wishing on it, since i never seen one back iin the states." Cora said, and closed her eyes as she made a wish.

Kyo watched her and smiled, but then he thought of Tohru, she was kind, caring, and emotional, and he admitted with out regret, she can be slow sometimes. "Hey Kyo, when the curse is broken, can we go live at shisshos dojo?" Cora asked. "Of course, he was even thinking about giving it to me when im old enough." Kyo said, Cora was happy, but then she realized something. "What about Akito? He won't let me go, thats obvious." Cora sighed, "Well, we'll prove him wrong, you deserve a lot more Cora, your special." Kyp said, "Your all i'll ever want Kyo, it just took someone to understad theres more to you than just your forms." Cora said as she put a hand on his cheek, he nuzzled her hand, and both sat there looking up at the sky, and looking at the shooting stars passing in the sky. They stood there for awhile, just talking, holding hands, and enjoying each others company. Cora looked at her phone, and she realized time passed fast than ever. "You think Shigure would mind if i stood the night? Its almost 1 am." Cora said, "Why would he? He wouldnt let you go home this late, so he'll say yes. Lets go, it's kind of cold out here." Kyo said, "No duh silly, its autumn," Cora chuckled as they got up, and they walked back to the house holding hands. They saw the house was dark, and they quietly opened the door and closed it, then went into the dining room, there was a little lamp and a note. Cora picked it up.

_"You'll stay with tohru tonight cora. Have a good sleep, spare clothes are on the dryer_

_Sweet dreams Co-chan."_

_-shigure_

"Guess im spending the night. Can i stay with you Kyo?" Cora asked, Kyo nodded, then Cora said clothes were on the dryer, Kyo took her to the laundry room and there were clothes, he gave them to her, they then went to his room, but he stood outside til she said it was safe to go in. Cora was just in sweats and a baggy shirt. "Let's get some sleep, Theres no school tomorrow, so we're good." Kyo told her, and he got dressed when she looked away. Both teenagers were under the covers. "Its warm." Cora whispered and giggled abit, Kyo looked at her and smiled, then kissed her forhead. "Night Cora." Kyo then kissed her softly, then fell asleep with his hands behind his head, Cora fell asleep with head head on his shoulder and an arm around his waist. Cora fell asleep in peace, because she was with the one who loved her, even though she hated his friend.

**...OOO...**

Back at the main house, Akito was furious. "Where is she?" he yelled and threw things, the maids were scared, Shigure then was there, "She's at my house, She fell asleep after playing a game with Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru. I didn't want to wake her up, she looked so peacefu." he said, "She's suppose to be here with me!" Akito yelled, "She's free to do what she wishes, isn't she?" Shigure asked as he leaned on the door frame, Akito's eyes widened, and he stepped back abit, "She is, but she...she..." Akito was speech less. "She's growing up, so free her, or be broken hearted if she falls in love with someone else. She goes outside, and someone s bound to see her, and love her for who she is, because she wont go with just anybody." Shigure said. Akito then got mad "She belongs to me! She's my singer!". Shigure was take back by this, and Akito kept yelling, "Im the only one for her! She's see's how i feel about Tohru! And know what, Cora hates Tohru as much as i do!" Shigure's eyes widened now, _"Thats what she's hiding. But why does she hate Tohru?" _Shigure was confused as hell right now, he tried to understand why Cora hated Tohru, Cora never hated anyone. "Why does she hate her?" Shigure asked, "Because, Tohru is in the way." Akito answered, Shigure knew there was more to that, he wanted to find out why. "I'll see you tomorrow Akito." Shigure said and then left. About 10 minutes after Shigure left, Akito fell to his knees and sobbed, his rose was being taken from him, and soon he'll be in a garden of white, just like before and after she left.


	7. Mine forever

**Hello lovelies! i am super super SUPER sorry i havent been **

**writing. **

**school started, and my computer didnt work. it sucked**

**and i say it again, i am sorry for updating so late**

**...OOO...**

It was afew days since then, and Cora finally decided to end the engagment. Akito was furious when he found her not in her room, the ring on the pillow, her stuff all gone, and a note with a red rose. Akito was angry, yet, he felt tears go down his eyes, as he read the note, afew words were written, just enough for the message to sink in his mind, and Cora made it simple...

_To Akito,_

_I am sorry, that it has to be this way. I love you_

_but i love someone more, i hope this wont change _

_change anything, but i know it will. So i will just _

_say it, as i feel, I'm leaving, dont come after me._

_Good-bye_

Akito cried that day for hours, just like when she left. He felt like his heart was breaking into pieces; he broke everything, tore up anything, and just destroyed his section of the manor. His only means of escaping his loneliness, was no longer there, he wanted to die, but he couldnt, he wanted to still see her, her image in his mind forever, her touch, everything, he remembered, and he sure as hell wasnt going to forget. Akito stood in his room the whole day after that, crying sometimes, and pretending Cora was with him, you may think he was crazy, but he was perfectly sane. As for Cora, she moved in with Shigure, staying with Kyo, but soon Shigure would find out the bitter-sweet truth about their lovely Co-chan.

**...OOO...**

_"Im the only one for her! She's see's how i feel about Tohru! And know what, Cora hates Tohru as much as i do!"__"Because, Tohru is in the way."_ Shigure thought about, what happened at the main house afew days ago kept him thinking. Until finally walking out of his study and go looking for Cora, but all he found was the 3 others in his house. "Have any of you seen Cora?" Shigure asked, "She said she was going to the store real fast, she went to get her jacket, so she hasnt left yet." Yuki answered, "Alright, thanks Yuki." and Shigure left, "Isnt that abit strange." Kyo said, "M-maybe he wanted to ask C-cora if he could go." Tohru said, "Your probably right ms. honda." Yuki said, Kyo dozed off and thought about his life, with his new (secret) girlfriend. Shigure waited for Cora by the door, he didnt wait long, because he saw Cora in jeans, black converse with white hearts on them, and a white shirt with a spade on it. "Mind if i join you, Co-chan?" Shigure asked, "No, but i really wanted to go alone." Cora said, "Lets go." Shigure said, Cora nodded, they walked out of the house, and went to the store. Shigure was trying to figure out how to approach the situation, _"Just ask, why do you hate Tohru"_ but he just shook his head, nothing seemed to fit about bringing up the subject, so he took the easy was, "Akito mentioned something the other day." he said, "And what was that?" Cora replied. "Why do you hate Tohru?" Shigure asked, Cora stopped dead in her tracks, with eyes wide, and stared at him. "Why Cora!" he yelled, no body was out, so it kind of echoed, "Because she's changing things! Kyo has even changed, i loved Kyo since we were small, before i met Akito, Kyo never judged me, even with my disability, he helped me." Cora said as she looked at the concrete.

Cora still had some trouble reading and writing, but since Kyo taught her, she was fine, he made things easy. "Why else do you hate her?" Shigure asked, "Because big brother Shigure gave my room to her, and she acts like she's part of the family. She has no right there. Kyo told me what happened. You promised that room to me, and you were never one to let in outsiders. I hate Tohru so much. She makes it seem like everything is fine, but they really arent. Why can she make everyone smile! why didnt anyone smile when i tried something? She does something simple and she gets smiles, when i did that, i just got ignored! But i was always there you everyone." Cora has tears running down her face, Shigure stood shocked, "Why didnt you say anything, Co-chan?" Shigure hugged her lightly, not enough to transform. "Would you have listened?" Cora answered and sniffled, "Yes, me Hatori and Aya." Shigure answered, "I just want to be with Kyo. I love him Shigure, i dont care if he's my cousin, i love him, like the earth loves the rain. I want to stay by his side Shigure." Cora told her favorite uncle, "Some will say something, you do know that, right." Shigure said, "Yes, and i know Akito would disapprove, but i dont care, i deserve a life like that, and you know what, me and Kyo made plans to move into Shissho's dojo." Cora said, "Your growing up so fast." Shigure said and they continued to walk to the store, Cora was going to make afew of Kyo's favorites. "Does he still hate leeks?" Cora asked, Shigure nodded as he pushed the cart and Cora put stuff in it. they walked through the store in silence, but then Cora felt a tgging at her shirt, she looked down and saw Kisa. "Kisa? What are you doing here?" she hugged the girl and Kisa hugged back, "Me and Hiro, are here getting milk and some vegatables." Kisa answered, and soon Hiro was there, "Hey Hiro, what are you going to make?" Cora asked, "I'm going to help Kisa make steamed vegatables." was his answer, "Oh, sounds yummy, i should make that too, since i have enough. Want me to buy your stuff, so you wont have to spend any?" Cora offered, "I dont take charity." Hiro said as he looked to the side.

Cora chuckled, "Ok, ok. But you know you can always stop by Shigures, and i'll make you and Kisa something special." Hiro nodded after that, Cora saw Kisa staring at the hot chocolate. "Here Kisa, go get yourself some hot chocolate, and some thing to get with it." Cora said as she handed the little girl some money, and smiled when Kisa hugged and smiled at her, and went to get hot chocolate, she went 'Aww' when Kisa offered a piece of her muffin and Hiro ate it. "They're close, arent they." Cora said, Shigure nodded, and then put the items on the conveter belt, and after, Cora paid for the stuff, she then said good bye to Kisa bygiving her a hug and a kiss on the head, same with Hiro, but she ruffled his hair and kissed his head. "Be good you two, hope to see you both soon." Cora said and left with Shigure, back to the house with all their groceries, and the talk earlier was brought upwhile they wlked through the forest. "Those arent reasons to hate Tohru." Shigure said, "I dont care, i hate her, she's in the way of the family. I love Kyo for everything, it shouldnt matter on looks.' Cora answered. Shigure was still confused, but he just shook his head and continued to go home. They got home, and after they put their coats and shoes away, they took the groceries in the kitchen, and Cora started making steamed rice with vegatables. Cora took her time, as Shigure told them that Cora was doing dinner today, Tohru got up quickly, but Shigure stopped her. "Why cant i?" Thru asked, "Cora likes to do things on her own, so i kind of thought you needed a break, and Cora can cook like you. Great dishes." Shigure said, Tohru nodded.

Cora was waiting for the beef, rice, and rolls to finish cooking. "It sounds good." Cora said to herself. And finally the food was done, she took all them out, and they all ate. "This is good Cora." Tohru said smiling, "Thanks." Cora smiled back, _"Thats a fake smile."_ Shigure thought. "It was good Cora." Yuki said, "I cant believe you put leeks in it!" Kyo freaked out, "Kyo, its good for you." Cora said, "Like hell it is!" and he sat int he chuckled and continued to eat with Yuki, Shigure and Tohru. Shigure was kind of worried about Cora, now that he knew she hated Tohru, he was worried about what might happen. "Something on your mind Shigure?" Tohru asked, "Huh? No, i was just spacing out." Shigure said, "Riiiight." Kyo said as he started dozing off. The weather became chilly, and he was tired most of the time, Cora chuckled as she got up, got a cover and pillow for him, and he knocked out right there. "Sleep wll kyo." Cora told him, and she went back to eating. "I cant wait for christmas." Tohru said smiling, "We have to get past thanksgiving, and halloween first." Cora said, "Thanksgiving?" Tohru questioned, "Oh yeah, its a holiday, when the settlers first had a dinner with the indians. Its abit complicated." Cora said, Tohru nodded. "You've changed so much since we were kids Cora." Yuki said, "No i havent Yuki, just my attitude." Cora answered, they just sat there eating, until they all were half asleep under the kotatsu. "So warm." Cora mumbled, and then they all were trying to stay away. "Ok *yawn* lets all go upstairs, its the weekend, so lets just sleep." Shigure told them, they nodded, Cora dragged Kyo upstairs with Shigure's help and put him in his bed and layed next to him.

**...OOO...**

_"Hey! Your Cora, right?" _a boy with orange hair came up to Cora as she sweeped the hall way of the dojo. Cora nodded. _"I'm Kyo. So your a Sohma too?"_ Kyo asked, Cora nodded. _"Why dont you talk? Its better to talk than not to."_ Kyo said, Cora just shrugged, Kyo pouted then he saw Kazuma, and ran to him, _"Shissho! She wont talk!" _Kyo pointed to Cora, who just smiled at Kazuma, who smiled back and then looked at Kyo to answer, _"She doesnt talk much, but when she does, dont talk to fast." _Kazuma said, _"Why, Shissho?"_ Kyo asked, _"Well, she has a disability."_ Kazuma answered, _"Whats a disabality?" _Kyo tilted his head, Kazuma chuckled _"Disab__**I**__lity, Kyo, and she has trouble learning things, she needs more time to learn than you do, so help her, when she needs it." _Kazuma told Kyo, who stared at Cora, who was sweeping. _"Why is she here Shissho?" _Kyo asked, Kazuma answered, _"Her mother is away for awhile, and she gave her to me to take of while she's away, she will be your sister and training partner." _after Kyo heard that, he pouted _"But i dont want a partner. I like being by myself." _Kazuma chuckled and said _"You dont have a choice Kyo. You'll be punished if you dont do what i say, and also, she is also a Sohma, so she is your cousin, treat her kindly." _Kyo pouted, and crosed his arms, as Kazuma walked pasted him, and picked up Cora, wh started giggling. Kyo just stared at her, he never seen her smile before, and he thought it was nice, he walked away to start his dinner, all the while, thinking of his new sister/friend/cousin and her nice smile.

**...OOO...**

Kyo sat up and caught his breath, he looked around, and saw he was in his room, he stared at the clock, which read 1:45 A.M., then he looked down, and saw Cora sleeping next to him, he smiled to himself and layed back down. _"Its been 10 years since then. And her smile is still nice." _Kyo thought. he looked at his door, got up quietly and opened it then walked out and leaned on the small balcony. The autum air was chilly, but there were stars in the sky, Kyo watched then, he connected the stars like connect the dots, and then went back inside, when he l;ooked at the time it was 2:11, _"Wow, 20 minutes, i __**MUST**__ have been out of it if i didnt realize i was out there for that long."_ Kyo closed the door and went back to bed next to Cora. His cat instincts couldnt help it, he purred quietly and nuzzled Cora's hair, which in turn caused Cora to turn and has her back to Kyo, he heard her mumbles "Kyo...your...fat." and snored quietly, Kyo looked at her with a **-_- **look, but then he just chuckled and went back to sleep.

**...OOO...**

Int the Sohma estate, Akito was planning on getting Cora back, "You will be mine, Cora, forever." Akito said as he threw knives at a picture of Kyo and Tohru, all the while chuckling abit insanely. He would be with his Co-chan, forever, even if it means breaking her heart to get with him, he had it all planned out, he was just waiting for the right time and day to do it, "Over christmas, is when i'll do it. And finally, she'll be mine again, with no one to bother us, and our happiness." Akito then was laughing like a crazy person. But he didn't understand, that the other zodiac members would help Cora anytime, in return of her kindness. Family sticks together, when they have to, other than that, they annoy the hell out of each other.

**...OOO...**

Cora was sitting on the proch, with a summer Kinono on, watching the stars, and moon, trhen arms wraped around her, she jumped and then she saw who it was, _"Kyo, you scared me." _ is what she said, Kyo chuckled and sat behind her, and they stood like that. _"Kyo, your not transforming." _Cora said, _"The curse is broken, thanks to you." _Kyo said and kissed her neck, _"You'll always be mind, Co-chan"_ Kyo said, but it wasnt him, it was.._"Akito! what did you do with Kyo?"_ Cora yelled, and tried to get away from him, but he held her there. _"Kyo is no longer a problem for us, neither is Tohru, we will be together, forever, like we said." _Akito said, Cora pushed him away, got up and ran away. Cora ran what seemed like forever, but it wasnt, she stopped, and she was in the hallway, it was lined with many dorrs, quiet, and on the other side was dark. Cora walked cautiously aforward, looking around, she jumped when the floor creaked, and kept going, she opened a door, she stumbled, back, and screamed, then everything went black.

**...OOO...**

**what do you think?**

**please review**

**love you all (:**


	8. Let go to the Aquarium! part 1

**Cherish your love, and if you love them**

**with all your heart, it wont matter**

**if you get introuble, your brave**

**for going to them, when**

**your heart told**

**you to**

**...OOO...**

Akito had planned everything out, and all he needed was to wait for the right time. Akito wasnt crazy...he was deeply in love with Cora. His love for Cora ran deeper than a knife, and he wanted her back, he paced around the estate, hinking of the perfect time to do his plan, he then stopped... "Christmas." was what he said, he chuckled, abit darkly, and started thinking of what he was going to do. Akito spent the rest of the day in his room, planning everything out, with a picture of Cora by him, he looked at the picture, and smiled at it, "Your beautiful Cora, always will be." Akito whispered to the picture, then went back to planning. It was going to be a heart breaking christmas for Cora, and Kyo.

...OOO...

Cora and Kyo were tangled in the covers, like literally. Cora's legs were half hidden by the covers, so were her legs and rest of her body unlike her head who was not covered. Kyo's legs, arms and torso were also tangled, that when he moved, Cora moved also. "Ok, seriously. How the hell did we get like this?" Cora said, the more she pulled, the more tangled she got. "How the hell should i know! Stop moving damn it!" Kyo said, "At least im TRYING to get untangled!" Cora responded, they fought the whole morning trying to get untangled, while Tohru, Yuki, and Shigure were eating breakfast, and listening to them argue. "Just like an old married couple." Shigure said, when a sudden crash was heard, yelling, and then Kyo was soon flying through the screen door. "How do you like them rotten apples!" Cora said, as she was just in a shirt and sweat pants, with a victorious grin on her face. "I see you both began the morning with a fight. Did you have to send him through the screen door? The main house is going to stop paying for new doors if this keeps happening." Shigure said as tears were running down his face. "Hey, Kyo thought it would be a smart thing to try to get to the bathroom first." Cora said as she sat next to Yuki and got food that was on the table. "Did you sleep well, Co-chan?" Yuki asked, "I did, thanks for asking Yuki, but you dont have to ask every day. You'll know if it was good or not, but we some how got tangled in the covers. It was weird." Cora replied, Shigure snickered, "Shigure you perv!" Cora said as she smacked him in the back of his head. "Ow, is it hit the writer day today?" Shigure said, "Thats everyday, Shigure." Yuki and Cora said together as they ate. Tohru was smiling as she watched Yuki, and Cora talk. Tohru lived with them long enough, but not like Cora, who was related to Yuki, Kyo, Shigure and the rest of the Sohma's. Cora got Yuki to smile, and she knew if the fan club saw that, they would flip out, but Tohru knew Cora could take care of herself, like Uo did.

"So what are we going to do today?" Cora asked as Kyo just got out from the hole he made when Cora threw him. "What do you want to do, Co-chan?" Yuki asked, they all looked at Cora, "Um, well, can we go to the art museum, and possibly just spend it together, like going to the movies, and eating take out, while playing a childrens card game, or playing a board game?"Cora asked, "I like that idea." Kyo said, "Of course, you like anything Cora suggests." Yuki muttered, "What did you say damn rat!" Kyo yelled, Cora sighed, Tohru freaked out, Shigure lit his cancer stick, and Yuki ate abit more, then set his bowl down. "Here we go again, another Yuki/Kyo fight scene. Viewer discretion is advised." Cora said as she moved the table, while her, Tohru and Shigure sat as far away as possible, and watched the two fight...again. It went on for a good 3 hours. "Damn. They must be really serious this time, this is the longest they went on." Cora said, she was amazed. Tohru was freaking out, then the table was split in 2, and a cup hit Tohru in the middle of the forehead, a plate missed Coras head by an inch, and for Shigure, well, he was in pain. from the tea pot...enough said. "Ok! Break it up you two! You almost made me and Tohru go to the hospital!" and with that said, both teens stopped and were suddenly checking both girls for injuries. "L-lets get this place cleaned first." Tohru said, they looked at her, they freaked out, because a tiny bit of blood was trickling down her forehead. "See what you idiots did. Come on Tohru, lets get you patched up." Cora grabbed Tohrus hand and lifted her up, "You two!" Cora looked at Yuki and Kyo, both stood up straight, "Clean up before we come back down, and help Shigure." Cora said as she took Tohru to the bathroom and sat her on the toilet. "They are idiots sometimes, when it comes to fighting." Cora said as she cleaned the wound and put a swirly design band-aid on it. "Ok, lets go get dressed, so we can go." COra said, but in her mind, she was thinking about giving Tohru a swirly.

Both girls went to their rooms and got dressed. Cora came out on gray skinny jeans, a blue shirt with 2 dinosaurs on it with hearts around them and on the bottom it says "Dinosaurs need love to". Cora had on green eyes shadow with blue, a blue bow in her hair, and green fuzzy socks and went down stairs to the dining room. "Are you two done yet?" she said as she walked in. Yuki and Kyo werent there, Shigure was sprawled out on the floor with an ice pack on his, um, area. "They went upstairs alittle while ago." Shigure said as he layed there. "Ok then. They wasted good food too." Cora said as she sat down at the table and looked out side. "Autumn came early this year." Cora said out loud, while she had her head on her hand, watching the different color leaves fall off the tree. "Your right, Cora." Yuki's soft voice was heard. Cora looked and saw her cousin in a blue Chinese shirt, gray jeans, and his hair abit ruffled, Cora giggled. "Come here Yuki, so i can brush your hair." Cora said as she pulled out her green brush, just as Yuki was sitting in front of her without complaint, Cora sat on her knees and gently brushed Yuki's hair. It was a quiet moment, but Shigure's snoring ruined it. Cora stopped brushing his hair, and layed her head on his shoulder. "Yuki, we'll always be cousins, right?" Cora asked, Yuki was abit surprised and shocked at the question, but then he answered, "Of course, Co-chan. Always." and he put his hand over hers. This was a nice family moment, til Kyo came in, in khaki pants, a black shirt and a blue sweater. "Hey, where are we going again?" he asked, he then saw Cora and Yuki. "They hell are you two doing?" Kyo asked, "We were having a nice cousin moment. Geez." Cora answered, "Oh." Kyo replied and sat next to her, Cora sat behind him and brushed out his hair. "The hell are you doing?" Kyo said as he had a faint blush on his face. "I'm brushing your hair, now shut up and sit still!" Cora said, Kyo did that, and he liked it, he wasnt used to it, but he liked it. With Cora brushing his hair, Kyo felt at peace, he never felt like this, and now he was experiencing it.

"S-Sorry i didnt come down sooner!" Tohru's timid voice was heard, she was in a light blue dress with sleeves, white leggings, and her hair was in two braided pig-tails. "So where are we going again?" Kyo asked, he was slightly purring as Cora continued to brush his hair, "We're going to a museum or two, then we're going out for lunch and dinner." Cora replied, "So who has the money?" Kyo asked, it was silent with Shigure's snoring in the back ground. "Oh yeah, i called Hatori yesterday, and told him what i was doing, so yeah, he's giving me money." Cora said, "So you had this planned out all along." Kyo's and Yukis voice in mono-tone replied to Cora. "Yup, and it would be fun, just us, hanging out together." Cora said, but in her mind, she was thinking of Tohru getting lost and leaving her there. "Your right, it has been awhile since we've done something together." Yuki said. "Well, if we want to get there, lets go." Cora said as she got up, causing Kyo to fall backwards onto his back. Cora left a note to Shigure saying they left already, and they'll be back later, and on the bottom it had the signature of all 4 teens.

...OOO...

"So, what did you have planned Cora?" Tohru asked. "Aquarium." Cora answered, "Thats not a museum!" Kyo yelled, "It has facts about fish, displays of fish, so there for it is a museum!" Cora yelled back, they bickered the whole time walking, and holding hands behind their backs, Yuki and Tohru just had sweat drops and walked. Even when they stopped at the stop light they kept bickering, the only time they stopped is when they went to the bathroom. They soon got to the aquarium. "Wow! Its so big." Tohru said as she looked, "I never been to the Aquarium before." Tohru said to her friends, "Neither have i." Kyo, Yuki and Cora answered together, and looked at each other. "You have no social lives." Cora said, "Your one to talk." Kyo said, "I do, your just ruining it." Cora said, and chuckled as Kyo's mouth was wide open as she walked up to the ticket booth, got 4 tickets and went back to her 'friend' and cousins. "Ok, lets go. And no touching stuff Kyo!" Cora said as she dragged Kyo up the stairs. Yuki was shaking his head and Tohru had a blank expression on her face as she followed her friends inside. They split up: Kyo was with Cora and Yuki was with Tohru. They all agreed to meet by the entrance before lunch, then go somewhere else. Kyo and Cora walked around, they stared at the jelly fish. "So, is it really made out of jelly?" Kyo asked as he put his face against the glass and watched the jelly fish. "No Kyo, they are called that because of how they feel, and they might look harm-less, but they're not. They can kill a person." Cora said as she looked at a display of jelly fish. "Theres one i think called man of war, something like that. But its sting is very deadly." Cora said, Kyo looked at her, "So its dangerous?" Kyo asked, "Yes, pretty much...jey look! cod fish!" Cora said as she went up to a tank with cod fish, Kyo was next to her, staring at the fish. "I'll make you some tomorrow, ok Kyo." Cora said to him, he nodded quickly, and Cora had to literally drag him away, and they looked at turtles. "They are so cute!" Cora said as she looked at the turtles.

"They're just fish to me." Kyo said with a yawn, "Kyo, they go on land, so they arent fish." Cora said, they walked around and went to the bottom floor, where it was abit dark, they walked around, then Kyo took hold of Cora's hand and entwinedtheir fingers, Cora was abit shocked buty smiled and blushed. They walked around for thwe remainder of their time, and sat together, with the bright glow of the dolphin tank infront of them, and the occasional dolphin swimming around, they sat there relaxed, then Kyo tok hold of her chin gently, and had her face him, then he kissed her, Cora blushed brightly, and kissed back, their hands tightening, then they pulled apart and had their foreheads together, both abit flushed and smiling at each other. "Lets go meet Tohru and rat-boy." Kyo said, Cora nodded, then Kyo helped her up when he did, and they left. When they got to the entrance, they both had sweat drops, because, Yuki had a ice pack on his nose and a bloody tissue, and was in a fish outfit, while tohru was in a mermaid costume and had an ice pack on her head. "Uh..." Cora said, "Dont. Even. Ask." Yuki said, "Ok, ok, not going to as, Just get out of those costumes please." Cora said, "We'll be waiting outside, come on Kyo." Cora said as she dragged a laughing Kyo out, then she also busted out into a fit of giggles. They got stared at, by people, but they didnt care.

**...OOO...**

**How was it? Good or bad? Tell me, but no flames**

**had enough as it is with those things. so the next one is**

**going to be about Yuki and Tohru's adventure in the aquarium**

**and you'll know how they ended up like that. See you Soon!**

**-Backlash Button**


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